Complaint Review: Shannon Holden President - The Global Connection

My wife and I became "affiliates" with The Global Connection or TGC (7950 East Acoma Drive, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 / 1800-475-8170 / email: corp@thegonline.com / website: www.thegonline.com) for approximately three months (beginning 10/28/04). We learned later TGC is reportedly a corporation associated with World Trader's Association (Sylmar, California). Shannon Holden is the CEO/President of TGC. W

e were introduced to her Business Opportunity through their associate, George Garrigus (Scottsdale, Arizona). Jerry Park (alias?) was assigned as our trainer. We opted to pay for their $7450 upgrade for mentoring services in a home business in brokering wholesale products to retailers.

This reportedly would include reference and training materials, complete training in the set up and on-going operation of the Affiliate's business, the customized, hands-on interactive training with a personal mentor, exclusive TGC Training Procedures (24-32 hours), and access to a toll free telephone and fax communication. We were informed this training and support would help us run a lucrative trading business. Jerry (trainer) commented to my wife that he would help her make her first $100,000.

TGC also promised us we would always have access to their merchandize. We have already mailed copies of their enticing brochure, the TGC Agreement contact, and our financial records, documenting our payment to TGC to the Federal Trade Commission.

As we started the "training phase" of this venture, we found Jerry Paek's involvement with us was very poor and distant. There were no adequate one-on-one contacts, as specified in the TGC Agreement and promised by our first TGC contact person (George). Jerry's one-on-one phone visits, only initiated by us, totaled less than fifteen minutes.

We were informed by the TGC brochure information and George and that TGC handled exclusive name brand items, and their product list (MLS) would regularly change. On the contrary, we discovered there were largely unvaried generic no-name products. The product list remained unmodified. The information booklet material mailed from TGC to our home constituted "information overload," however, little of substance, relevance, or truth. For example, the phone numbers furnished in the TGC US Companies Offering Merchandise for Domestic and/or Export Sale were outdated or invented -- useless junk!

As part of our Agreement with TGC, they would continuously furnish us contacted and prescreened retailers to do business with. TGC only provided us two short lists. We discovered some of the phone numbers were inoperable or their companies did not exist. The retailers we were able to locate reported they were never contacted by nor had knowledge of The Global Connection.

During the last four weeks with TGC, before they were closed down by the FTC, they did not respond to our emails or Lead Sheet Requests (retailer list request). The phones and fax were also inoperable. This situation has been and continues to be very frustrating. It constitutes, in our opinion, a serious infringement on our TGC Agreement contract ---- blatant fraud! This has been agonizing and financially burdensome to our family ($7450.00). We had already invested over $13,000 in this home-based business. My spouse, having taken on greater responsibility working with TGC, is reasonably upset. She had left other employment to pursue this business opportunity. We provide for a large family, making this situation very difficult to recover from.

It is our understanding many others have also been scammed. We recommend anyone in the same situation to also contact the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI. We seek direction of how to go forward. We have kept all of our TGC records, including Agreement contracts, emails, financial documents, etc. We are also enthusiastically eager to cooperate in any investigation (i.e., furnishing other documents, affidavits, court testimony, etc), as this would be the honorable thing to do. Again, we would appreciate any guidance, support, or direction.

JR
Joseph, Utah
U.S.A.