Scam Type
Employment Scam
Business Name Used
Employment Scam
Date Reported
February 22, 2024
Postal Code
91724
Total Dollars Lost
$ 0
Scam Description
I was offered a job as a Personal Assistant for Capital Invest Company (Info@capitalinvestcompany.com) on or about December 15, 2023 under the condition of a non-paid month-long internship, then paid employment following that. The gentleman who hired me, CHARLES MORAN (charles_moran@capitalinvestcompany.com), contacted me through email. The internship supervisor, JONATHAN SIMON (JS) (Jonathan_Simon@capitalinvestcompany.com), communicated via WebEx. Their website was subpar, as I did research them with suspicion, but I was so desperate for employment, I pushed forward. During the training, JS had me enter various account numbers to establish an account with Wise Bank, which after several failed attempts disabled my access. When I asked should I choose the dispute option, JS said no. I thought this was odd, as was the various account and routing numbers, but again, broke and desperate. So for the next two months, JS would instead have me do remedial spreadsheets, organizing thousands of names from collected resumes from people worldwide. This was very strange, but I did as instructed. When the first month ended, I was due for pay, but was told that because I “hadn’t completed training,” I was ineligible until that happened. I should’ve quit then, but desperate, I refuted, stating the lack of training completion was the fault of Wise Bank rejecting their own information. Alternatively, I was asked to establish a LibertyX account, and instructed to use $500 to $1,000 of my own money to invest for training (yes, he actually said this). I told JS I did not have that kind of money, informing him of my frustration as they hadn’t even paid me. They then resolved to send a direct deposit, but at the appointed timeframe of delivery, no funds came. They said their system was down, and after failed attempts to resend it, they would send me a check. … I should’ve quit by now but I was desperate, so I waited and waited… no check ever came. Delay after delay, they would always push the business day timeframe. I lashed out at them about my financial situation, and JS once again stated his “finance department” attempted to send a direct deposit, which never posted/arrived to my bank account. At the tail end of employment, JS instructed me to create a CareerBuilder account, I suppose to use me as an agent to seek their new victims. We went through the steps, and using c/o account information, along with his email and my name, the account was suspended, likely due to the system sensing suspicious activity. At this point, I was beyond livid. I demanded a Zelle payment. JS took my email linked to it. He told me the “finance department” would reopen on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, following the holiday (President’s Day 2024); however, JS did not answer WebEx at all all throughout the morning. I sent him and Charles an email, stating my dismay, and demanding my owed payment. There was no response from either gentleman. To note, there were a couple of mornings JS mistakenly sent messages in what I perceived as Russian text, but he may have deleted those instances, as I do not recall finding them when I re-scrolled through the messages. Further, JS did have his infamous “finance department,” with whom I could never have a one-on-one phone call, provide account numbers to attach my account, as an external account to resolve the payment issue; but, as expected, they all failed. While I am not sure what exactly the scheme these gentlemen are running, I suspect, they gauge one’s potential worth by prompting employees to use their own funds for training etc. In my case, I complained incessantly about my pressing expenses and overdrafts, so they likely were less invested in me towards the tail end of their string-along. Please catch these crooks, and keep them from hurting other people. I wasted three long unpaid months with these people. Please do something to stop them. Thank you.
