HHellerSpecialtycoffees Howard Heller BEWARE OF 'LEASE" OF EQUIPMENT FOR JOB SEEKERS Internet, California

I responded to a craigslist employment ad entitled: NEW! "Complete Starbucks Store in a Box!" Biz-2-Biz! Base+Comm. Within a couple of minutes of sending my resume I was bombarded with about 6 emails describing the opportunity.  Then was to complete a questionnaire and email it back to Howard. I did just that and received another email asking me to call him. 

I called him and he spend about 28 minutes talking...talking....talking....I call it the build up.  It really doesn't matter what he talked about up to that point.  It was all filler material designed to build a sense of excitement.  High earning amounts...the usual.  Then he hit me with the meat of his call.  He said that in order for him to be protected I would have to qualify and sign a "lease" for the equipment (the coffee maker).  What he described in the "banking" portion of his phone call is nothing more than a "straw purchase"...I would qualify for the lease, which in fact would be a loan, probably through a company like American General Finance...which provides high interest loans on equipment like this.  But don't worry he said.  We would pay the monthly payments on the equipment.  Now why would they pay a monthly lease amount on a piece of equipment they already own?   Warning signs galore...Proceed with caution.