Former private investigator-turned-scam artist John L. Grogan (doing business as "John Grogan & Associates", "PEOA.us", "Polygraph Examiners of America", etc.) cashed my check in the amount of over $800 which was for the purchase of his so-called "Polygraph Academy in a Box" from his website www.peoa.us (he also purports to sell this same training material at one of his many other websites, www.polygraphacademy.com).
Since that time, I have not received anything whatsoever. Additionally, this unprofessional jack-ass has failed to return numerous phone calls and email inquiries regarding my purchase...after over 2 months of waiting.
My first red-flag that I had been scammed was when I received a copy of my check for this purchase, which Grogan had cashed at a local branch of my bank (not into his own bank account like a legitimate business would do). So I started calling him to ascertain the status of my order to no avail...
After apparently being defrauded of my money, I did some research on Grogan and have subsequently learned that he is a disgraced former private investigator who had his PI license and concealed handgun permit both revoked by the State of California for various misdeeds, to include defrauding clients of their money.
These days, John L. Grogan has reinvented himself as a supposed polygraph examiner despite the fact that he apparently never attended a complete polygraph examiner's course of instruction. Now through his websites www.peoa.us and www.polygraphacademy.com Grogan claims to sell a "40 Pound Packet of Polygraph Training Materials" which alleges to completely train someone to become a polygraph examiner...If only he actually sold the materials as promised on his websites.
Grogan also lacks the necessary training and experience to be accepted as a member of the American Polygraph Association...So instead of pursuing membership in the nation's preeminent professional association which represents this industry, Grogan bad mouths it and decided that it would be easier and more lucrative to create his own: Polygraph Examiners of America (www.peoa.us).
A closer look at this supposed "professional association" is that it is nothing more than a pyramid scheme for unsuspecting polygraphers to network with Grogan...Basically, Grogan refers polygraph exams to members of his so-called PEOA and elicits a fee from them if they accept the referral. There are no enforced standards of conduct for any member of PEOA...and PEOA is basically a one-man operation...manned by who other than John L. Grogan himself - Unless he conned his daughter into answering the phones and sending out referrals via email for him, that is.
Verification that Grogan has lost his licenses to practice private investigations and to carry a firearm can be found by searching the State of California's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services website at: http://www.bsis.ca.gov. From there, click on the "Industries Regulated" tab, then "Verify a License", then the "Private Investigators" tab, then "Search Managers...", and search by his name...You will see that since 2003 his PI license and Firearms Permit were both revoked. As of May 5, 2008, Grogan now has his daughter Katheryn Grogan licensed as "Katheryn Grogan & Associates" even though she's barely drinking age...I wonder who the "Associates" is???
Grogan, so far, has approximately 10 different websites online wherein he advertises his supposed polygraph services...Evereywhere from various cities within California (that consequently has no professional regulations over polygraph examiners so he can do whatever he wants) to New York to Georgia to Arizona to Florida. If and when I come across any of these other states that DO have polygraph regulations, I intend to report this unauthorized practice to the appropriate agencies. Obviously Grogan has established a nice little presence on the internet for himself in an attempt to legitimize his activities despit being nothing more than a charlatan and thief.
Further, Grogan's unprofessionalism can be seen by checking out the numerous complaints lodged against him with the L.A. County (Southland) Better Business Bureau...I count 7 complaints as of today's date. Go to their website at www.la.bbb.org and search under his name. There you will find most of the complaints were lodged against him under his former company name "Gold Star Investigations". The complaints vary from outright theft (as in my case here) to failure to provide services to paying clients.
In addition to this mountain of evidence that this guy Grogan is nothing but a sociopathic thief and fraud, he can be heard on the Tom Leykis show wherein he is confronted live on-the-air by a former FBI polygraph examiner as being nothing but a fraud and scam artist. The links to the audio recordings of these episodes of the Tom Leykis show,as well as numerous documented complaints and other helpful facts about the numerous amount of scams this Grogan guy has pulled so far, can be found here:
http://www.polygraphplace.com/articles/issue138.htm#1
and http://www.polygraphplace.com/articles/issue142.htm
While Grogan has apparently avoided criminal charges being lodged against him so far for his numerous misdeeds, I intend to change that....I have issued a demand to Grogan for a refund in full for the money he has taken from me. If Grogan fails to do this in a timely manner, it is my intent to file criminal complaints against him with the appropriate law enforcement agencies in Canoga Park, L.A. County, and the State of California. Additionally, I have my corporate attorneys already drafting a civil lawsuit to be filed against him for the recovery of my money as well as the money I am spending to pursue these legal/civil remedies. I intend to file as many complaints as possible, and to as many agencies that will listen, in an effort to get this scam artist stopped and to get my money back.
B
Colorado Springs, Colorado
U.S.A.