Phila. company accused of scamming HS teens

CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- Police are investigating a Philadelphia company accused of targeting high school students with promises of jobs and money for college but students say the organizers took the money they were owed and disappeared.

"I understood that I was going to help teens and college students get jobs because some people, I know it is hard for them to get jobs and I was going to help them. I like helping, I like making a change," said Alexis Collier, high school senior.

Collier, Shadiqua Smith and Martha Jackson all had big dreams for three high school teens and they were willing to work hard to reach them.

"They seemed pretty legit so I was quick to sign up," said Smith, 11th grader.

The three girls were hired to work for a company called the Heritor's Student Network and Savings Company. Their company literature says it is "A place where students work, save, and receive cash on graduation."

"Basically when you recruit people you get $18 per person but they split it in half and put half in your savings account and you also get paid like a regular job. So by the time you cash out you will have a lot of money when you graduate to pay for college," said Martha Jackson.

At orientation the girls say they were told they had to pay $60 up front, for a uniform and their job was to recruit other students.

They would be paid for each person they signed up, and half the money would be put into a post-graduation savings account.

"I recruited people, I got a list of people here of all the names I recruited, I think I recruited 100 or more than that in three weeks," said Collier.

Collier estimates she should have been paid about $1,000 for three weeks' worth of work, but says she only got paid once in cash.

"I got paid onetime $13.50," she said.

Smith and Jackson say they never saw a cent.

"I was just stunned, like wow, I put all of my effort in to this job and I took it serious," said Jackson.

"It just seemed like they were good kids who were just trying to get some work and make some money," said Mark Fogelman.

Fogelman owns the office space that HSNS rented on an as needed basis. He says dozens of teens showed up at the company's office, only to find they were gone and the promised paychecks were nowhere in sight.

"What upsets me the most is that these are kids. In her mind maybe she's thinking it's just $60, I'm ripping off each person $60 but you are really ripping off their dreams," said Fogelman.

Last week Fogelman started compiling a list of teens who showed up looking for their money and turned their names, along with surveillance video of HSNS owner Sanovia Johnson, to police.

"The concern is there may be some improprieties. We are going to find the people that are involved in it and what exactly took place," said Capt. Roland Lee, Philadelphia Police.

The Major Crimes Division is now investigating.

When Action News contacted Johnson, she would not answer her door, but sent us an email saying:

The company has been revising the program and will no longer need our student employees to meet on the field. They were told several times that we are no longer paying them in Cash for Security reasons. A letter was sent to them stating that they are to select a compensation option to receive their pay appropriately.

If you noticed, most of our staff is under 18 years of age and are unable to cash paychecks or barely have bank accounts. As a favor, we withdrew the cash out of the account used for staff compensation and paid each person with cash.

After 30 days of doing so, we have found it to be a security risk. We implemented changes to the program so that they will be paid the correct way. All students that were compensated knows that they have to send back their form so that we know how to pay them.

Their options are:
-Paypal
-Paper check Authorized by a parent
-Direct Deposit
-Western Union

When they return their Forms, They will receive their pay accordingly. No If, ands or Buts about it. I or the program has NO WORRIES. We have made these changes to protect the safety of not only the company but the YOUNG ADULTS INVOLVED!

Our Mission is to provide Motivational Employment Opportunities to All Pennsylvania High School and College students in hopes of reaching students throughout the entire US. This will enhance our Post Graduation Funding provided exclusively at the Johnson HsNs Company. During the process we will provide our student employees with a "GRAD-PACK SAVINGS ACCOUNT."

"Now their hopes and dreams are out the window also because they don't have no money, they don't have no jobs," said Collier.

Fogelman says Johnson failed to pay him over $1,000 in rent.

He estimates there were at least 60 teens recruited by the company. Police are looking at the possibility that many more may have paid the $60 fee and received little, if any, compensation for their work.

The students say they don't want to give the company their banking information are still waiting for the payments.

The company says students can have their parents request that paychecks be mailed to them, but in their parent's names.