Action 9 Investigates Local Company Offering Jobs Online
Posted: 4:59 pm EDT July 6, 2009Updated: 3:52 pm EDT July 7, 2009
Action 9 investigates an Orlando company that advertises thousands of job openings. But instead of landing jobs, many applicants complain, they got a sales pitch.
READ: Response To Action 9 Report On Online Jobs (PDF)
"It made me sick to my stomach." She quit working for a huge online jobs company inside a Metrowest building. Career Networks and 3 Stars Media advertise jobs nationwide. The former employee says she was paid to conduct telephone interviews with applicants, and she claims they thought she was interviewing them for a job.The telemarketing scripts she gave us and a version the company supplied, suggest it's more sales pitch than job interview to convince you to go back to school.The ex-employee says she was paid for every job seeker who agreed to a college contact, and was not gathering information for an employer about a job.Karen Goode applied for a job, or so she thought. (Todd) "Did that job exist? (Karen) "No there was no human resource assistant." Instead Karen said after the interview she was spammed by schools and education grants, emails she never got before. "They're just sucking you in to sell something," said Karen.The Better Busines Bureau has 60 complaints about those ads.Action 9 found the man running the companies is Alec Defrawi. (Todd) "It appears all your doing is gathering information to resell to online universities." (Alec) "We do not resell information. We never resell information from any person." Later he said his company is paid for every applicant who contacts a college. Is that fair in a tough economy?(Todd) "They're a job applicant." (Alec) "Well okay." (Todd) "They want a job?" (Alec) "Let me address that." Defrawi told me all the ads are placed by real companies, he gave us a partial list of 9 companies including the U-S army. "They went on our site and posted a job," said Alec.He could not verify how many applicants actually land jobs. Defrawi does have a history, a felony fraud conviction for a federal jobs scam in the 1990's where he took advance fees for non-existant jobs.He says that's the past and the new company is for real. Many applicants we talked to disagree. "I don't want to be sold something. I want to go back to work," said Karen.Three Stars did say that online job seekers can opt out of its interview, then applications go straight to the employer. And it's working to resolve BBB complaints.
READ: Response To Action 9 Report On Online Jobs (PDF)
"It made me sick to my stomach." She quit working for a huge online jobs company inside a Metrowest building. Career Networks and 3 Stars Media advertise jobs nationwide. The former employee says she was paid to conduct telephone interviews with applicants, and she claims they thought she was interviewing them for a job.The telemarketing scripts she gave us and a version the company supplied, suggest it's more sales pitch than job interview to convince you to go back to school.The ex-employee says she was paid for every job seeker who agreed to a college contact, and was not gathering information for an employer about a job.Karen Goode applied for a job, or so she thought. (Todd) "Did that job exist? (Karen) "No there was no human resource assistant." Instead Karen said after the interview she was spammed by schools and education grants, emails she never got before. "They're just sucking you in to sell something," said Karen.The Better Busines Bureau has 60 complaints about those ads.Action 9 found the man running the companies is Alec Defrawi. (Todd) "It appears all your doing is gathering information to resell to online universities." (Alec) "We do not resell information. We never resell information from any person." Later he said his company is paid for every applicant who contacts a college. Is that fair in a tough economy?(Todd) "They're a job applicant." (Alec) "Well okay." (Todd) "They want a job?" (Alec) "Let me address that." Defrawi told me all the ads are placed by real companies, he gave us a partial list of 9 companies including the U-S army. "They went on our site and posted a job," said Alec.He could not verify how many applicants actually land jobs. Defrawi does have a history, a felony fraud conviction for a federal jobs scam in the 1990's where he took advance fees for non-existant jobs.He says that's the past and the new company is for real. Many applicants we talked to disagree. "I don't want to be sold something. I want to go back to work," said Karen.Three Stars did say that online job seekers can opt out of its interview, then applications go straight to the employer. And it's working to resolve BBB complaints.
Copyright 2009 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Pump Patrol 
Theme Park Guide 
Central Florida's Medical City 
Bored Room 
Buy It For Half 
