Company accused of credit fraud

About 10 students say Irvine-based business made charges without their consent

By ANNE WONSONO
Staff Writer

Eight to 10 USC students claim to have been defrauded by the Irvine-based World Technology Marketing Inc., which is also known as Worldtech, World Marketing Alliance and World Marketing, officials from the Career Planning and Placement Center said.
One student, the first to make a complaint, claimed to have been charged $495 without her consent, though she did sign a blank credit card statement.
The student, a graduate in biomedical engineering, contacted Carmen Serrano, director of career services in the engineering department, who later informed the Department of Public Safety and the Career Planning and Placement Center.
The student, who wished to remain anonymous, and one other have filed complaints with DPS. However, the crime did not take place at USC, so DPS will be taking little responsibility in the matter, said DPS Deputy Chief Bob Taylor.
"The crime took place at Irvine and thus is outside the LAPD jurisdiction," Taylor said.
Other agencies are aware of the situation, and the department will help them to the best of its ability, said DPS Det. Bob Devega, who is in charge of the case.
"A complaint has been filed with the Irvine Police Department, the California Department of Consumer Affairs and the Orange County District Attorney Office," Devega said.
Doug Woodsmall, the supervising attorney of the Orange County District Attorney's consumer protection unit, said that he could not comment on the complaints because they are confidential. However, he did say that the office does not plan to file a case in the near future.
"It's certainly not imminent," he said. "Assuming we have complaints, we do a lot of things as far as trying to resolve something before we actually file a case in court."
Numerous complaints about the company have been made to the IPD, the first one as early as September, said Irvine Police Sgt. Rick Handfield, adding that there is not yet a criminal investigation taking place. Currently, the IPD is just investigating if Worldtech gave the students false information.
"When it is more consumer fraud rather than criminal fraud, it is difficult to prove the company is acting criminally," Handfield said. "The basic business premise is fairly legal."
The amount alleged taken from each USC student was less than $500, the amount needed for the company to be charged with a felony, Devega said, adding that charging a credit card after obtaining the owner's signature is not considered a crime.
"(The company) seems to know how far they can go, which direction they can take," Devega said. "It's a hustle."
Complaints also have come from other area schools as well, including Fullerton College, Occidental College, UC Riverside, Chapman University and UCLA, Handfield said.
Handfield attributed the success of fraudulent companies to their targeting of young, inexperienced college students.
"College students (are) more ready victims, as they're just starting their life," he said. "There is the lure of big money to get their career started. They may not have the experience of someone who is older."
Handfield added that people who make hasty decisions often find themselves in risky situations.
"People sign contracts without reading them, giving out ATM cards and credit card bills," Handfield said. "(They are) sucked in by big rewards and later claim foul. People should slow down. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
Jerry Ballah, who identified himself as the president of Worldtech, claimed to have no knowledge of the situation.
"I only found out something was wrong on Saturday afternoon," he told the DT, "when a few people from USC were passing out crime alert bulletins in my lobby."
Taylor said that the people passing out bulletins were from UCLA, but they used USC DPS crime alert bulletins.
Devega confirmed that no USC representatives went to Worldtech that Saturday afternoon and in fact, Worldtech had been contacted since the first day of the complaint.
"If the students write a letter asking for a refund, they will be considered case-by-case," Ballah said. "A full refund is also possible as long as I find that the students have not made use of any of the company services."
The engineering student who found a charge on her credit card after the interview tried to call the company and said she has received no reply.
"Ballah has also identified himself first as an independent representative, later as the vice president of Worldtech and finally as president of the company when contacted by DPS," Devega said.
Representatives from the company, which both DPS officers and university officials believe to be a fraudulent business, posed as recruiters during the Career Fair on Feb. 4 and received information from USC students, including credit card account numbers, according to reports that students made to the CPPC.
The engineering student said that a representative asked to see her résumé during the Career Fair and took it with him. He told her that there would be an interview if the company was interested and walked away without explaining in what type of work the company engaged.
She described the representative as a man about 20 years old who had no name tag or business card and carried a clipboard.
Two days later, a Worldtech representative contacted her to set up an interview, she said, and upon arriving at the company's office in Irvine, she saw several students coming in for the same interview.
"Other than two men from Arizona and Texas, seven of us were from USC," the student said.
There were three stages involved in the interview: a prescreening, an information session about the company itself and a time when the students signed papers, including a contract.
On Section 5 of the contract, the student signed what she understood to be a fully refundable $29 application fee. She also signed a blank American Express bill after she was told that it was necessary to continue the interview process, she said.
"(The representative) said that we had to put our signature for paper processing in case we get accepted," the student said. "(The representative) gave an impression that the interview would not proceed without any paperwork signed by (the students)."
Taylor said DPS and the Department of Student Affairs are currently drafting a letter to be sent to Worldtech prohibiting company representatives from coming to USC.
Since the first complaint, both the engineering career center and the CPPC has warned students of Worldtech through e-mail. Also, DPS has distributed a crime alert bulletin throughout campus. Around 30 to 40 students from the School of Engineering have responded.
Handfield encourages those who feel Worldtech defrauded them to report it to the IPD. The department's number is (949) 724-7000.

City Editor Claire Luna contributed to this story.

Copyright 1999 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 136, No. 28 (Friday, February 26, 1999), beginning on page 1 and ending on page 3.