The Harris Black Watch is a victims' rights group
founded in 2002 to monitor the business practices of
convicted employment agency con-artist Harris Black
and to warn other Canadians about him.
His aliases including the following:Harry Williams,
Harry Black, Harry Simon, John Ashton, Steven Shaw, David
Gogo, Mark Canterbury, Allan Namer, Mark Linton, Tom Lang,
Kenneth Greenberg, Harry Kennedy, Lisa Flaherty,
Greg Thompson, Martin Feldman,
Jennifer Mason, Sister Mary Joseph, Father Constantino, Beth
Feldman, Steve Feldman, Sister Mary Hughes, Mitchell Terry. His recent
companies / web sites include: www.CareerExperts.org,
www.Career-Experts.org,
www.thejobnow.com,
www.complainonline.net,
www.fastmediate.com, and topjobs4you.com.
All the information on this website has been documented in
newspapers, TV news reports, and postings about Black from December
2001 until today.
This is
Harris Black.
A December 10, 2003 CFCF
News report caught Black on tape
claiming he was a pediatrician at the Montreal Children's
Hospital
Harris
Black in Thailand circa 2009
HARRIS BLACK: AN OVERVIEW
Harris Black has a well-documented history of taking money
from consumers for job-placement services that he does not
provide. He was convicted in Quebec and fined $2,000 for
violating the Consumer Protection Act in 2000. Black paid
the fine, but continued to run his business, under new
names, including Addition 2000, Emploi 2000, Find-A-Job,
Phoenix, and Roxton Marketing.
According to the Quebec Consumer Protection Office
and court records, 44 people filed complaints or claims
against Black from 1996 to 2002.
CFCF News reported in
March 2002 that there were likely "hundreds" of victims.
In fact, the Quebec Consumer Protection Office charged Black
with additional infringements to the Consumer Protection Act
in 2002. After about two years of delays, the case was heard
on Friday, June 18, 2004 and Black plead guilty to 12 of the
28 charges. He has nine months (until about March 2005) to
pay the fine of $7,200 (or $600 for each offense).
There are still about 12 cases against Black pending in
Small Claims Court in Quebec. To date, we know of now legal
proceedings in British Columbia against Black, where he
operated from November 2002 until about November 2003, and
then again from May 2007 to July 2007.
View a PDF with a list of all the legal complaints
against Harris Black in Montreal.
Black returned to Montreal during the summer of 2004 and was
arrested for theft. A judge was set to hear the case of
February 5, 2005, but Black was out of the country. Black
spent time in Pattaya, Thailand and returned to Montreal in
the summer of 2005. Harry Black made the news again after
women came forward complaining about his behaviour. He lived
in Thailand from September 2005 to May 2007.
He returned to Vancouver in May 2007 where he started
conducting fake job interviews in public locations, such as
Starbucks. This led to more TV news reports about him. He
also got warning letters from the BC Better Business Bureau
in July 2007 for using their logo on his CV/resume writing
website, www.CareerExperts.org.
Black returned to Thailand in August 2007 where he runs his
web based resume writing services. Complaints about the
service occurred immediately following the launch of the
website. Again, Black is alleged to be taking money for
services he does not provide -- this time using the PayPal
payment system. Local law enforcement in the United States
has recommended victims of Black's latest scam
contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Internet fraud unit. You may also
send a complaint so the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) can investigate.
In August 2008, Black founded another website offering the
same CV/resume services. 123Hired.com also uses
PayPal for payment and shows the same example resumes. The
complaints started soon after.
THE SCAM
How did the original employment agency scam work? Here's an
excerpt from the weekly Hour newspaper, which did an
expose on Black in February 2002:
"When I got to the
interview, he said I had to sign a contract and his
payment would be my first week of salary," explained
Bailey last week. She gave him $20 up front, charged
to her credit card.
But the jobs Black provided
soon turned out to be far from what he promised, she
said. "The jobs he sent me had little to do with my
experience or qualifications. Sometimes I didn't get
interviews: sometimes the companies said they had no
jobs, and some said they had told Black to stop
referring people."
Worse, two weeks later
Black put a $680 charge on her credit card, she
said. When she complained, he said it was "part of
the contract," that he could take her first week's
salary even if she didn't have a job. His earlier
assurances to the contrary weren't guarantees, but
"just you and me alone in the office." When she said
she wanted her money back, she said Black told her
only people who "have something for me" get refunds.
Visit the News Reports
section to read every news story about Harris Black from
January 2002 until today.
One of the many news
articles on Harris Black
Black repeated the employment scam over and over again. He
eventually closed his business for good once the steady
stream of newspaper articles and television reports became
too much. He left Montreal in spring 2002 for Vancouver, BC.
It wasn't long before Black was up to his old tricks. But
this time, the Harris Black Watch had been formed, this
website was online and our victim's rights group was
monitoring his attempts to collect CVs via the Internet.
CFCF News report on Harris
Black, March 20, 2002
BLACK HITS VANCOUVER. VANCOUVER HITS BACK
By November 2002, the Harris Black Watch had received
several e-mail messages from people in Vancouver who were
suspicious of Black. These people were clever enough to do a
Google search for "Harris Black", found this website and
began to share information with us.
By January 2003, we received the first confirmation that
Black was attempting to restart his "job-placement" business
in Vancouver. The previous month, Black had posted job
openings for a data-entry clerk at the University of
British Columbia (UBC) student centre job board. Several
female students applied for the job and went for interviews
with Black.
We received several e-mail messages from these female
students. In every case, the student was suspicious of Black
and disturbed by his behaviour. For instance, he asked
inappropriate questions (eg, "Do you have a boyfriend?") and
conducted some interviews in his Jeep Cherokee.
This news was deeply disturbing because, according to
official Quebec court documents, Black pled guilty to
Sexual Assault (art. 271-1-B), and an Indecent Act
(art. 173-1) in 1999 and served 18 months probation. These
two charges stem from two separate incidents with two
different women on December 9, 1997 and November 28, 1997,
respectively. Black, isn't just a convicted scam artist --
he is a convicted sexual assault offender in Quebec.
On January 31, 2003, BC Global News also did a story
on Black. Both reported on criminal conviction and
business-related fines (video not available). Global News
also reported that the university received complaints from
several students just four days after Black posted the
help-wanted ad.
CV HARVESTING AGAIN
A month passed before Black resurfaced. In May 2003, Black
posted help wanted
notices on Internet discussion groups (van.general,
van.jobs, bc.general, and bc.jobs). Black used the names
Lisa Stanford, Jane Sweeney and Heather Caulfield. The
"companies" she/he claimed to run included Global
Consulting, an
IT recruiting firm, an
ethnic recruiting firm, and a human resources firm.
This "CV harvesting" technique was the exact one he used in
Montreal to get CVs from unsuspecting people. He would
collect CVs from unsuspecting people for bogus jobs. This is
how he found unemployed people. He would then call the
applicant several weeks later -- this time using a different
name. He would invite them to visit his placement service.
The victims never understood how he got their contact info,
but they visited his "agency" anyway because they needed a
job and thought he could help.
THE MEDIA INVESTIGATES
Following a tip from our victims' rights group, BC Global
News in Vancouver decided to re-investigate Black again and
confirmed that our fears we justified. Black had rented a
turnkey office space downtown and was again scamming
students looking for work. This time the business, located
at 701 West Georgia Street, Suite 1501 was called
Global Consulting or Ideal Personnel.
On May 28, 2003, reporter Ted Chernecki visited his
office and found a Capilano College student in the
lobby who had just paid "John Ashton" $200 to help her find
a job. He demanded the money up front and preferred that she
pay with Interac (debit card) but said that he also took
Visa.
BC
Global News did two reports
on Harris Black in May 2003.
The following day, BC Global News did a follow-up report on
Black/Ashton. Several people had seen the previous day's
report and were able to confirm that "John Ashton" was
Harris Black. A female, who requested that her identity be
protected, said that Ashton/Black asked her many personal
questions during their meeting.
"He started to get
into more personal questions about my life that was
not necessary for [the job]. He was asking me if I
was attached... and just really started feeling
really uncomfortable."
Source: BC Global
News, May 29, 2003
A male client said that Black told him that he'd have
someone in his office work on the client's resume. When the
client finally received the resume, he discovered that it
was only a half page and looked as if "a child had been
working on it." Once again, Black was charging for services
he did not provide and asking females inappropriate
questions. As a result of the two news reports, Black was
asked to leave the turnkey office that he was leasing on
West Georgia Steet. Also, Capilano College immediately put
up a warning to students about Black
on their website. But Black wasn't about to give up.
BLACK TRIES AGAIN...
Black opened a new turnkey office in North Vancouver at
145 West 15th St. in August 2003. He even got a business
license from the City of North Vancouver. The new business
name was Horizon.
The city received complaints about Black soon after he
opened his doors and they quickly revoked his business
license. But not before Black cashed in on a "steady stream"
of clients.
Marie Lucas, the
manager at Diversified Business Services (DBS)
offices on West 15th Street in North Vancouver who
processed his application to lease a turnkey office,
said she was shocked to learn about Black's
background and said she had no idea that he was
anything other than what his references said he was.
According to Lucas, Black was "a nice, professional
person who told us he had about 5,000 job
opportunity files."
According to Lucas, "a steady stream" of clients
were showing up every day for the last two weeks for
interviews with Black.
This caused a stir in North Vancouver as the city council
came under fire for not properly looking into the people to
whom they gave licenses. Read
this editorial in the North Shore News for the fallout.
For the record, this is the North Vancouver council
resolution regarding Harris Black:
9.1 REPORT OF THE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Moved by Councillor Clark, seconded by Councillor
Fearnley, that the following recommendation of the
Committee of the Whole in camera be ratified:
(a) Business License - File: 3045-03
PURSUANT to the hearing held in-camera on September
15, 2003:
THAT the business license issued to Harris Black to
operate the business Horizon be cancelled for
reasonable cause pursuant to Section 660 of the
Local Government Act;
AND THAT staff be directed to take all steps
necessary to effect the aforesaid cancellation.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
...AND AGAIN
Around Sept. 25, 2003 we received several e-mail messages
from UBC students who had visited "Harry Black" at his
latest new office. This one was back in the City of
Vancouver at 1311 Howe St., Suite 311. They were responding
to this ad on the UBC Alma Mater Society's (AMS) Joblink Web
site.
Organization HMB
CONSULTING
Job Position OFFICE CLERKS
Pay Rate 13/hr
Application Deadline 2003-09-11
Job Skills BE FRIENDLY AND KNOW MS-OFFICE
Comments PLEASE EMAIL RESUMES IN MS-WORD ONLY TO
IBM2003@SHAW.CA THANK YOU!
Recipient S.W.
Email IBM2003@SHAW.CA
Address 311 - 1311 HOWE ST.
City
Postal Code V6Z2P3
Here is an excerpt from the Ubyssey newspaper report of this
incident, including facts about how Black scams job
searchers to do free labour.
Three students then
complained to Joblink and UBC Career Services about
the job posting. Complaints were also registered
with the Vancouver Police, said Norjberg.
The complaints came
when Black allegedly told two students replying to
the posting that for $100 he would spruce up their
resume and distribute it to companies looking for
employees.
"That should be a
warning bell to the students," said Una Walsh,
acting director of UBC Career Services. "If you are
replying to a job ad a legitimate employer would
never be asking you for money."
Another student
complained about going for a job interview and being
put to work for three unpaid hours making calls to
male applicants. The calls were to find a candidate
to fill an undetermined job from a stack of resumes,
said Norjberg.
"Our concern is
that he was doing this to a bunch of students so
that he could get a bunch of free labour out of it,"
she said.
It turns out that a woman named SW[name removed
on request] obtained a business licence from the City of
Vancouver. A few days later, she informed the office people
that her "friend", Harris Black, would be taking over the
business. It is unclear at this time whether SW realized
what type of business Black was starting up again. Black may
have taken advantage of a good person who was too willing to
trust him.
Harris Black gave this
business card to clients.
After several complaints to the city and to the building
manager, Black was evicted from the office. Sources tell us
that Black used several curse words when he learned his
fate.
MEANWHILE, BACK IN QUEBEC... The Suburban reported in October 2003 that new charges
have been filed against Black by the Quebec Consumer
Protection Office. If convicted, Black faces a fine of
$4,800 -- in addition to the $6,464 of the previous case
still moving slowly through the courts. Sadly, Black has
gotten his mother involved in his legal mess. The Suburban
reports that:
"...Malka Schwartzman
has been charged with 13 counts under the Quebec
Consumer Protection Act in connection with Phoenix Inc.,
a placement agency operated by Black. According to
l'Inspecteur generale des institutions financières, the
company opened in Schwartzman's name in 2001 and closed
last year. Schwartzman pleaded not guilty, but faces
$600 in fines for each count, according to Levac."
IN THE NEWS AGAIN In early December 2003,
CFCF News in Montreal reported on Black's online dating
activities with a warning to single women. They used a
hidden camera and set up a date where Harris claims that he
is a pediatrician. They also spoke to a woman who dated
Black and felt betrayed by his false claims about being a
doctor.
In late December 2003,
Hour newspaper published their third expose on Black.
This time, they focused on Black's online dating habits.
To Sabrina (not her
real name) the man she met on Match.com was "every
single mommy's dream," a kind, considerate pediatrician
who told jokes, performed magic tricks for her son and
indulged her love of dancing. Soon they were intimate
and she trusted him enough to loan him a spare apartment
key.
"Fifteen hours later I caught him in my bed with
someone else. Let me tell you, gone were the manners and
there was no remorse on his part," she says.
Black also made the Suburban's
top newsmakers of 2003
for the second straight year. He was featured in the "Known
to police" section.
HE'S NOT A DOCTOR, AND HE DOESN'T PLAY ONE ON TV
The new year, 2004, didn't start off well for Black as he
was, again, featured on a
CFCF News report on January 16, 2004. They reported that
the Quebec's College of Physicians is investigating Black
for misrepresenting himself as a pediatrician. The fine?
Between $600 and $6,000 per incident.
On January 22, 2004,
Hour newspaper reported that Black failed to show up in
court (again) for charges that he violated the Consumer
Protection Act. His lawyer got the case moved to April 14,
2004.
CONSUMER PROTECTION FINES BLACK AGAIN
After about two years of delays, the case against Black by
the Quebec Consumer Protection Office was heard on Friday,
June 18, 2004.
Hour newspaper reported that Black plead guilty to 12 of
the 28 charges against him and was fined $7,200 ($600 for
each offense). He has nine months (until about March 2005)
to pay the fine. The 13 charges against Malka Schwartzman
were dropped. Here is the French
press release from the Quebec Consumer Protection Office
regarding the Harris Black case (English
translation).
BACK TO VANCOUVER...
In August 2004, Black posted notices on Internet discussion
groups to find people to buy his
black Jeep Cherokee,
two computers, and to
sub-let his apartment. We also received notice from
several sources that he intended to move to Vancouver on or
about September 2004. In other posts, Black specifies that
he is interested in a furnished apartment in Vancouver
for only a month or so (also see
here and
here) and a
mountain bike.
CHARGED WITH THEFT
In November 2004, CFCF News reported that
Black was arrested for theft
in Montreal. The case is moving through the courts. They
also report that Black was traveling through Thailand in
November.
BACK TO THAILAND
In December 2004,
Harris posted a message on a Vancouver discussion group
looking for someone to teach him how to speak Thai. He
states that he is moving to Thailand. In a post on a
Thailand-based discussion group, Harris says he is looking
for split a cab from the airport in Thailand with a fellow
traveler when he arrived back in Thailand on December 30,
2004.
New information suggests that Black is living temporarily in
Pattaya, Thailand. However, he may be looking for a more
permanent address near there.
VICTIM BEATS BLACK IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT
One of Black's victims, Bonnie L., won a claim against Black
in Small Claims Court on February 22, 2005 for $700 + 5%
interest + $62 filing fee. She has 10 years to claim her
judgment from Black (or perhaps others legally associated
with his former business). Black didn't appear in court and
so lost the case.
If Black took your money for services he did not provide,
you too can win a judgment against him in
Small Claims Court. You have up to three years from the
date that you paid him for his "services". It is fairly easy
to do a claim. There are people who are there to help you.
If you haven't started the proceeding, do it right away.
VICTIM GETS HER MONEY BACK
One of the saddest parts of this story is how Harris Black
has gotten his mother involved in his mess. By all accounts,
his family is well-respected and good honest people. But
because Harris Black has left Canada, his victims have been
forced to get their money from his mother--whose name Black
used on at least one of his business registration papers in
Montreal.
Bonnie L., who won her case against Black (and his mother)
was finally able in mid-March 2005 to collect the money
awarded to her in court. Black's parents were forced to
clean up his mess. As more cases move through the courts, I
suspect they will be forced to continue cleaning up his
mess(es).
It's bad enough to scam unemployed people out of their
money. But that's nothing compared to putting your elderly
parents through a legal mess because you don't have the
decency to make things right on your own.
ANOTHER VICTIM WINS JUDGMENT AGAINST BLACK
Tina W. won a judgment against Harris Black in Quebec Small
Claims Court on April 18, 2005. She was swindled out of $700
by Employment 2000 back in 2001. The judge awarded Tina $700
+ interest + court costs.
Remember, if Harris Black took money from you for services
he did not provide, you have up to 3 years to file a claim
and 10 years to collect any Small Claims Court judgment.
Contact us at
senseigrm@sympatico.ca if you need information on how to
proceed. Remember, you are not alone. Black conned many
people. Don't let him get away with it. If he owes you
money, let the courts help you get it back. That's what the
courts are there for.
NEW COMPANY, SAME SCAM
Harris Black returned to Montreal in spring/summer 2005 and
is once again posting help wanted ads and conducting job
interviews. His new alias is Harry Williams. His new
company is called Pik Perfect. His new e-mail address
is
pikperfect@sympatico.ca.
Black has been interviewing people at the Java U cafe on
Monkland St. He posted job offers at the
Concordia Student Union Off Campus Job and Housing Bank
and in the Gazette. Victims have already started to contact
the Harris Black Watch.
For the record, this is the job ad he posted at Concordia:
We are a multimedia group seeking
several qualified employees with good command of English
to fill this post. Please apply by email:
pikperfect@sympatico.ca
*please write "CONCORDIA OFFICE CLERK" in subject of
email.
www.bunk1.com
We are a photography company that uploads photos to our
website so families can see their loved ones today while
on our site when they themselves cannot be present. For
example, your child is at summer camp for 2 months. With
our site, you could actually see photos of your child
today. It’s the next best thing to visiting. With
nursing homes, many family members cannot attend in
person so we do the photos regularly and they may see
their loved ones on a more regular basis albeit in
photos.
We work with summer camps, animal kennels, tour groups,
and nursing homes. Our market keeps expanding and we
constantly need more photographers. No experience is
necessary and we provide equipment unless you prefer to
use your own. Schedule may be full time or part time.
You are responsible for visiting each client and taking
candid photos. They are not posed or professional. We do
NOT do photos of an adult nature. See www.bunk1.com.
Please email your cv to
pikperfect@sympatico.ca. Feel free to include any
photos or only a cv.
BRINGS WOMEN TO COUNTRY
HOUSE, GETS REBUFFED, STRANDS THEM The Link (Concordia University
student newspapers) reported in September 2005 that
Black kept himself busy this summer 'interviewing' women for
bogus jobs. Black placed ads in newspapers, met the women
applicants in cafes and invited them to his country house as
part of the job application process.
The man Jessica claims is
Black arranged for a job interview at the Java U on
Monkland. A few weeks later, he picked her up at her NDG
home and took her to his Clarenceville family cottage
for a test photo shoot.
She says she ate lunch and drank wine with Black, but
became anxious when she realized they weren't really
going to be taking any photos. She noticed his e-mail
inbox open on his laptop and memorized the address.
Later, she says Black asked to take nude photos of her,
and have sex with her, both of which she quickly
declined. At the end of the evening, he refused to take
her home.
"He said, 'Here's the bus stop, take the bus to
Montreal.' It was a trailer park," Jessica says. "I was
crying, begging him to take me home."
After a minor struggle, he left her at a depanneur where
she says a clerk witnessed their dispute. The next
morning, she ran an Internet search on Black's e-mail
address and found McHugh through
www.harrisblackwatch.com.
Another woman had an even more disturbing story.
At the cottage, Mercado says she refused Black's
advances, which she claims greatly annoyed him. After
she declined a drink from him, he flew into a rage.
"He tried again to kiss me, but this time he jumped
on me and he threw me on the sofa-bed," Mercado says
from Peru. "I started to scream and he laughed."
He herded her into the car and threw her out on a
deserted stretch of road. She found help after about a
mile's walk, and made it home several hours later.
BLACK SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR PROBATION FOR THEFT
Harris Black was found
guilty of theft (article 334.b.ii of the criminal code) in
Montreal Municipal Court (room 1.40) on Friday, September
23, 2005. He had been arrested on or about July 22, 2004 for
allegedly stealing 10 tickets from the Just for Laughs
festival where he was volunteering.
The judge sentenced him to serve one year probation and pay
a $200 fine. The prosecution had asked for a $300 fine but
Black's defense lawyer said that Black's finances were very
low since he hadn't worked for 12 months. He said that
Black's application for legal-aid showed that he made
$3,234 in 2004. (Amazingly, Black was still able to
spend five months in Thailand in 2005.)
The conditions of the probation are to keep the peace and
stay away from the Just for Laughs people, building, and
organization in general. He is also never allowed to attend
any of the Just for Laughs festivals.
According to the court transcript, the judge told Black:
"You are not credible, your story is not credible and I
don't believe a word that you've said here today."
BACK TO THAILAND IN
DECEMBER 2005
Harris Black returned
to
Pattaya, Thailand in December 2005. Being the curious
types, the Harris Black Watch visited
Expedia.ca in early
January 2006 to check the cost to fly from Montreal to
Bangkok. The cheapest return flight was $3,002 (Air Canada,
one stop). The cheapest one-way flight was $1,673 (United
Airlines, two stops). How does someone who made $3,234 in
2004 afford this kind of travel?
HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAI PROSTITUTES
Ever the humanitarian,
Black has repeatedly posted a tip sheet for westerners
who want to use the services of Thai prostitutes, but
would rather not pay them anything.
HARRIS BLACK APPEARS IN TV AD FOR RESTAURANT
In a strange turn,
Harris Black appeared in an infomercial for for a
Pattaya, Thailand restaurant in June 2006. You can see the
video
here. Black's testimonial starts at 3min 30sec.
"The variety is
wonderful!"
ONE YEAR PROBATION OVER
Harris Black's probation on charges of theft ended on
September 23, 2006. The Harris Black Watch has learned that
Black may be returning to Canada soon, now that his
probation is over. If you have news or information on Black,
his activities and any alleged scams, contact us
immediately.
This "CV harvesting"
technique was the exact one he used in Montreal to get CVs
from unsuspecting people. He would collect CVs from
unsuspecting people for bogus jobs. This is how he found
unemployed people. He would then call the applicant several
weeks later -- this time using a different name. He would
invite them to visit his placement service. The victims
never understood how he got their contact info, but they
visited his "agency" anyway because they needed a job and
thought he could help.
BLACK TARGETING ASIAN
COMMUNITY
Harris Black continued to use many web services to attract
job seekers, including Craiglist and Workopolis. He now
claims to have vast experience serving the Asian community.
I wonder if he is counting
this.
Black also boasts a 95%
placement record. (The only record that should be of
interest is his criminal record, which includes a 1999
conviction for Sexual Assault (art. 271-1-B), and an
Indecent Act (art. 173-1), fines from the
Quebec Consumer Protection Office, police charges of
theft (2004) and 34 cases in small claims court.)
Global News BC reports on
Black again
Global News in Vancouver reported on Harris Black on June
27,
June 28 and
June 29, 2007. They interviewed two women who said Black
lied that he was a physician. Another reported on his job
placement antics.
June 28, 2007 Global News report
June 29, 2007 Global News report
Vancouver
Courier reports on Black
A week after BC
Global News in Vancouver reported on Black for three
evenings, the weekly
Courier newspaper
reported on him. The report explains how he used
Craigslist to post fake jobs to get CVs from unsuspecting
clients, almost all women. Harris
Black telephone number: 778-869-1972, Address 101246-1184
Denman Street, V
ancouver, BC V6G 2M9
Better Business Bureau and the BC Crime Prevention
Association warn people about Black Harris Black got the attention of the Better Business
Bureau and the BC Crime Prevention Association. The BBB was
upset because Black used their logo on his new website,
Careerexperts.org. They have also added his
company
to their database. This is from their July 26, 2007
press release:
"It is really
unfortunate that the most vulnerable are being
targeted," says BBB president Lynda Pasacreta. "The
owner of this company has a history of criminal
behaviour, and the BBB is concerned about his company’s
pattern of misleading sales practices."
The Harris Black
Watch learned that the
Careerexperts.org site is owned by Harris Black (see
here for the whois domain name record). So far the site
is just a single home page with no content. But we have
learned that Black intends to use the online payment service
PayPal to collect money from people for services such as
reviewing CV's.
Serial shyster British Columbia's Better Business Bureau and the
B.C. Crime Prevention Association are combining to warn
consumers about an employment scheme that targets the
unemployed and recent immigrants.
Harris Black, also known as Harris Kennedy, is posting
ads on free classified services such as CraigsList. The
ads, which claim to offer employment positions, are
actually advertisements for a resume writing service.
Black back in
Thailand, using Web for latest scam
Harris Black left Vancouver and returned to Thailand in
August 2007. He launched a website, CareerExperts.org,
where he offers people "a resume that stands out from the
rest" through "help" from "professional resume writers". He
offers three products priced at $30, $50, or $60 and he
accepts payment through PayPal. Here is what was
written on the About Us page:
Your resume is your first
impression so make it count!
How would you like to have a powerful resume that will
open doors and get you interviews?
We can help and we deliver results!
CareerExperts can assist you in reformatting your
Curriculum Vitae (resume) within 24 hours or less as we
understand the best career opportunities don’t last
long.
Our resume writing service provides you with
professional resumes that get the attention of
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Complaints from users of the
service to PayPal started almost immediately.
Local law enforcement in the
United States has recommended victims of Black's latest scam
contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Internet fraud unit.
Back in Vancouver? In December 2007,
we were tipped about an employment agency scam operating in
Vancouver byBrian J. Hodgins running a company called
“Executive Solutions" at 701 West Georgia Street, Suite 1501
(e-mail address:
vancouver@execjobhunt.com). According to the
BBB, several people have complained. It is not clear if
Harris Black is involved in this venture.
New year, same tricks
At the start of 2008, Harris Black uses uses the name Martin
Feldman to recruit job seekers. Here is part of his e-mail
that he sends to people:
I received your resume
from one of my clients in the hotel industry and wish to
follow-up with you. Are you ready for a career change?
My name is Martin Feldman. I am the CEO of Career
Experts (helping people find great careers in the hidden
job market since 1995). I am really impressed with your
rich work experiences and advanced education. I can tell
from your experience that you are very good working with
the public, a "people person" which is exactly what we
look for.
He has also used this text:
Hello, one of my clients
sent me your resume and we want to follow-up with you.
Are you ready for a career change? Are you free for
interviews this week? My name is Jennifer Mason. I am
the VP of Career Experts (helping people find top level
careers in the "hidden job market" since 1995). I am
really impressed with your rich work experiences. I can
tell from your experience that you are very good working
with the public, a "people person" which is exactly what
we are looking for.
It continues like this for a
while. He lists jobs and salaries. And he signs his name
Jennifer Mason, VP, careerexperts.org.
Looking for people to help in
the scam
In May 2008, Harris tried to recruit people to post job ads
for him and reply to the email responses. He offered them an
hourly wage for the service. Some people likely didn't
realize they were now part of the scam. If you were
solicited by Harris Black to work for him, contact us.
Web host enables Black's
scam
As of July 2008, IX Web Hosting refuses to terminate Harris
Black's Careerexperts.org website. As such, the Harris Black
Watch is advising people to consult a lawyer regarding a
class action law suit against IX Web Hosting for knowingly
assisting a convicted con artist in scamming job-seekers out
of thousands of dollars.
New website, same scam A new website, 123Hired.com, was started in August 2008
offering the same resume/cv service as Careerexperts.org. A
quick Google search found several complaints soon after. The
service was advertised on the free classified ads service,
Craiglist.
Florida newspaper reports
on Black and his scam
The Bradenton Herald (Florida) reported on December 18,
2008 on a local woman almost getting scammed by Black's
CareerExperts.org website. She was suspicious, researched
the website and confronted Black by email. He wrote back (as
Sister Mary Joseph) and said: "My dear, i have all your
personal info. we will see how you like it when employers
read about you!"
Michigan television news
station reports on his scam An NBC affiliated station in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
reported on Harris Black on December 19, 2008 because a
Michigan man found his international postings on Craiglist
and reported the scam to the media. Here is the video.
Black pretends to be priest
too
After posing as
the fictitious Sister Mary Joseph at
www.CareerExperts.org
since around mid 2007, Black founded a new fake web company
around December 2008 called
www.TheJobNow.com and
has created a number of characters including Father Michael
Constantino, Sister Mary Delfino, and Sister Katherine
Polaski. (The photo Black uses for
Sister Mary
Delfino actually belongs to French nun
Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre. The other photos are fake
too.)
New scam, collection
agency In July 2009, Black started sending this email to his
email list. Apart from trying a new kind of fraud, the
message is all in caps. The FBI should arrest him if only
because of sketchy grammar. Here's his message:
Steve Feldman (stevefeldman)
would like to be paid using PayPal.
Money Request Details
Amount:$19.95 USD
Event Date:Jun. 15, 2009
Note:THIS ACCOUNT HAS BEEN TURNED OVER TO THIS
AGENCY FOR COLLECTION. OUR CLIENT'S RECORDS INDICATE
THE BALANCE IS CURRENTLY PAST DUE. WE ARE ATTEMPTING
TO RESOLVE THIS MATTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
AMOUNT DUE: $19.95. ONCE PAID, OUR RECORDS
WILL REFLECT THE STATUS OF YOUR ACCOUNT WITH
NATIONAL DEBT COLLECTIONS INC., AS SETTLED IN FULL.
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT AT OUR CLIENT'S REQUEST, WE
MAY REPORT YOUR DELINQUENT ACCOUNT TO THE CREDIT
BUREAU(S) ON THEIR BEHALF.
Pattaya's least
intelligent con-man, Harris Black, still hasn't learned
his lesson that crime doesn't pay. His newest scam is
complainonline.net (no link... don't want to move it up
from it's zero Google page rank).
What complainonline.net does is publish fictitious and
slanderous complaints about people and companies. Then,
if you are one of those companies or people and ask to
have the slander and lies taken down, you are told by
Harris, in essence, "We aren't involved in checking the
truth behind any complaints published on our website. If
you want the complaint taken down, we have contracted
with a 'third party moderator' whom you can hire to
judge the truth of the complaint, and if they say we
should take the complaint down, we'll take the complaint
down."
Then the victim is directed to another fake company
owned by Harris Black called FastMediate.com, with a
fictitious New York City address, whom the victim then
pays to have the slander against him "investigated" and
removed.
Harris managed to post several hundred complaints by
scamming a bunch of people on Craigslist to create
accounts on his complainonline website, promising to pay
them $10 per complaint they put up, and then of course
never paying a penny. (See here for
all the complaints lodged against complainonline.net and
Harris Black by the people he suckered.)
Of course, what Harris is too thick to realize is that
his whole scam is a huge waste of his time: In the end,
Harris' site has a page ranking of "zero" on Google,
which means that anything he puts up on the site winds
up ranked below any other site with a page ranking of 1
or higher. The several hundred doctors' whom he accused
of malpractice... and day care centers he accused of
child sexual abuse... they will never even notice their
names on his site because of the dozens of professional
sites and listings that already have those business'
names on them which push Harris' complainonline results
to just this side of oblivion on Google. (A quick glance
through Google for both "Arya Restaurant", one of
Harris' targets, and the name of one of the doctors he
accuses of malpractice, showed no conmplainonline.net
pages within the first 20 pages of results.)
And, for those tiny few that do happen to notice these
silly, unbelievable complaints about them, hopefully
they will take the time to google complainonline.net and
FastMediate.com, and see this article I've written, and
realize that the whole thing is a scam.
A stupid scam... a pointless scam... a worthless scam...
and thus nothing but a typical Harris Black scam... but
still a scam.
If you were listed on Harris
Black's "ComplainOnline.net" website, and then
subsequently were contacted by somebody claiming to
represent either "ComplainOnline.net" or "FastMediate.com",
that is wire fraud, a federal crime. I highly recommend
you contact the FBI at
http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx and submit
a complaint. It's quick and easy. If you are in Canada,
you can also contact the FBI, or you can contact the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police's fraud department at
http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/.
Additionally, if you would like to contact the Thai
authorities, click
http://ecybercrime.police.go.th/ (link opens in new
window) to go to the Thai police's cyber crime report
page. Once you get to this page, select the fourth menu
item on the left (3 below the "tan" top selection). Once
you click on that, the form will appear. For the
pulldown menu in the first box, select the first option.
In the second box, type "www.complainonline.net". In the
third box type your complaint. (You might also want to
mention that Harris Black lives in the condo called
"View Talay 6" between Soi 9 and Soi 10, between Second
and Beach Roads in Central Pattaya, and you might also
want to mention that in addition to the crimes he is
committing online, he has also been in Thailand since
August of 2007 without renewing his visa.
Harris taken in for
questioning by the Thai police In September 2011
we learned of Harris Black's latest scam to lure women to
stay with him at his View Talay apartment/condo building in
Pattaya. He uses Couchsurfer.com, a website that connects
travelers with hosts. She says that Harris Black lifted her
skirt and photographed her while she was sleeping and
unconscious. He also photographed her passport. He then send
her these photos by email after she left, which is when he
asked her to get information about the status of his arrest
warrants or else he would send them to her employer. The
victim has some clout, it seems, and managed to get the Thai
police to take him in for questioning on September 26, 2011.
She also filed complaints with the Hong Kong police, and
Interpol (via the RCMP).
You can read more here, but you must register for a free
account first. You can also read at Couchsurfer.com
another woman's account of her experience with Harris
Black.
If Harris Black committed a
crime against you in Thailand, you should contact the
Thai police.
British reporter blogs
about Harris Black Independent
British journalist Andrew Drummond wrote about Harris Black
on his blog on December 12, 2011 under the title "Warning:
Do Not Approach This Man".
Active on ThaiVisa.com
We received word in January 2012 that Harris Black has been
active on the ThaiVisa.com website.
Another woman traveler has
bad experience with Harris Black On January 22, 2012, the a post appeared on a blog
recounting a visit to Pattaya, Thailand by a woman who met
Harris on the CoucherSurfing.com website. According to her
post, Harfis's mother dropped off home-made cookies for her
to bring to Harris when she got to Thailand. While flying
from Canada to Thailand, she clued into the fact that
Pattaya is known for prostitution and warned not to go
there. But she felt duty bound to deliver the cookies. When
she arrived, Harris took her and some other to the local hot
spots. She was turned off and eventually returned to
Harris's apartment where she slept for a long time due to
jet lag. The next evening, Harris told her she could only
sleep there another night if she performed a sexual favour.
She packed up and was gone in 2 minutes. She was so
disgusted, she went immediately to the airport to fly to
Bangkok. She later read about Harris on the various
discussion groups and fears he took inappropriate photos of
her while she was sleeping off teh jet lap that first
evening. Her post is in French. You can read it here:
http://valerievandal.com/?page_id=42 (English
translation here).
