Job seekers can be a target for unscrupulous companies. Recently I told you about one scam. Here is what another company was doing. In this case, a recruiter, Nick Corcodilos, took them to court.

FTC Halts Fake Job Opportunity and Resume Repair Operation 

Alleges defendants tricked consumers into paying advance fees of up to $2,500 for placement and resume services for jobs that did not exist.

FOR RELEASE
February 25, 2019

The Federal Trade Commission charged two companies and their owner with bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from consumers for sham job placement and resume repair services. A federal court halted the scheme and froze the defendants’ assets at the FTC’s request.

According to the FTC’s complaint, Worldwide Executive Job Search Solutions, LLC, PrivateEquityHeadhunters.com, and their owner, Craig Chrest, sent consumers unsolicited messages through well-known business networking websites, like LinkedIn, falsely claiming to have exclusive relationships with hundreds of private equity and venture capital firms, and telling consumers they were candidates for unadvertised, highly paid executive positions with these firms.

To get an interview, job seekers were required to pay upfront fees of $1,200-$2,500. In many instances, the defendants were pocketing consumers’ money knowing the job opportunities were fake, according to the FTC.

“Consumers should be wary about paying money for a job opportunity or interview,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Paying upfront for job placement services is often a sign of a scam.”

The defendants also deceived job seekers with false claims that those who used their services had a 100 percent interview rate and over an 80 percent placement rate, according to the FTC.

Since at least 2016, the defendants also deceptively sold purported resume repair services, telling consumers that their resumes were deficient and that they could not be considered for a job unless the defendants fixed their resumes. In many instances, the purported job was fake, according to the FTC.

The defendants are charged with violating the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

The defendants in this case are Worldwide Executive Job Search Solutions, LLC (also doing business as WWEJSS, Seven Figure Careers, 7FigRecruiters, 7FC, Finnburg Switzer, ResumeterPro, Creating Job Opportunity, Confidential Jobs Only, CJOnly, and CJO Private Equity); PrivateEquityHeadhunters.com, LLC (also doing business as PE Headhunters, Private Equity Headhunters, and PEHHS.COM LLC); and Craig Chrest, who owns and controls both companies.

The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas entered a temporary restraining order against the defendants on February 11, 2019. The FTC has requested the entry of a preliminary injunction that would halt the scheme until trial.

FTC Complaint
The Complaint filed against Chrest’s businesses by the FTC in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division alleges:

  • “since at least 2014, Defendants have deceptively advertised, marketed, promoted, and sold bogus job placement and resume repair services, duping consumers out of millions of dollars.”
  • “the job interview is a charade”
  • “In many instances, the potential employer does not exist but is a shell entity established and controlled by Defendants.”
  • “Defendants have established or controlled websites or created press releases for the purported PE/VC firms”
  • “Defendants have similarly used deception to sell purported resume repair services.”
  • “Defendants have frequently shut down their operations and re-opened similar operations using new assumed names, websites, or aliases.”
  • “In 2017 and 2018, Defendants’ website has used numerous assumed names, including CJOnly and CJO Private Equity.”
  • “Defendants have operated a series of websites over the years:
    • PrivateEquityHeadhunters.com (2014);
    • PEHHS.com (2014); www.sevenfigurecareers.com (2015);
    • 7figrecruiters.com, www.FinnbergSwitzer.com, and www.resumeterpro.com (2016); and
    • exx20171.com (2017-2018).”

The lawsuit alleges that Defendants have engaged in deceptive practices in connection with the advertising, marketing, promotion and sales of job placement and resume repair services. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas has issued a Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting the alleged deceptive practices.

You may obtain additional information directly from the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC has also published this post on its Business Blog, offering suggestions to consumers and advising “to do your research before paying for placement services”: “Executive search firm” charged with giving job seekers the business.

Comments
There are two legal cases: The action Chrest filed against in 2017 and the FTC’s new action against Chrest.

Article provided by AskTheHeadhunter.com.