Hundreds of Unemployed New Yorkers Ripped Off In Alleged Job Placement Scam
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of unemployed New Yorkers struggling to make ends meets turned to a company that promised them work. Instead, they were robbed.
Angry New Yorkers told CBS 2's Maurice Dubois that a job placement company called United Care Services promised to find them work for a fee.
"I paid them $199. I was promised a job with benefits and everything," Susan Marrero said Wednesday.
The company offered housekeeping, maintenance, clerical, and nursing positions, according to spurned customers. The fees were supposed to be used for background checks and uniforms.
"I was supposed to come back to get fitted for uniforms and get sent to a different location. That location doesn't exist," Annabell Mills said.
The job seekers answered ads in the newspaper and on Craigslist. When they eventually figured out that United Care Services was a hoax, and returned to demand a refund, they found that the company had disappeared.
The building manager, who would not give CBS 2 his name, said that as of Friday the company was still a tenant.
"I wasn't here over the weekend, and I just came back today and they were gone," he said.
The company did leave behind dozens of receipt books, which could be used to prove that it cheated thousands of people. The NYPD urged victims to go to the 13th Precinct to file police reports.
Job seekers who were burned in the scam told CBS 2 they won't back down until they have been reimbursed.
"This is money stolen and it's just not fair. We're in horrible times. This is not acceptable," Jackie Arias said.
Scam victims will begin appearing in court on Thursday to try to set things straight.
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