I am a former employee of Mr. Serafano. I have watched him systemically remove naive and down on their luck people from what is in many cases their life savings. The behavior I have seen from Mr. Serafano and his staff was appalling. I am writing this in the hope that I will prevent more people from being ripped off, and to offer assistance to those who have already become a victim.
The scam goes something like this:
You may have received a pop up message offering you an incredible work from home opportunity with wildly exaggerated promises of thousands of dollars within the first month. You either submit your name and phone number (standard Adpro rip-off) or you submit complete name and address and credit card information (phony “business package”/cash cow rip-off) and are told you will be contacted shortly.
A representative tells you the fantastic opportunity that he or she has to offer you, after collecting some minor financial information (such as number of and types of credit cards and bank accounts you own and respective balances.) they will tell you that you can be part of their “staff” generating leads using a program called “AdPro Extreme” and all they ask is a small upfront investment.
If you haven't hung up at this point, they will connect you to their “marketing director.” Mr. Serafano and 2 of his other best rip-off specialists make up the “marketing directors.” This is the first and most likely last time you will get to speak with Joe Serafano before he takes your money. He will claim the software costs them $3500 per copy to acquire, but because YOU are so special, he will put up X amount and all they ask is you cover the rest (the rest being how ever much they think they can get you for).
If you say you shouldn't have to pay for an unproven business opportunity or that the amount is too much Mr. Serafano will either knock the price down to between $500-$200 if he still feels he can get some money from you. Of course you should hang up on him or ask him for written testimonials and copies of the supposedly huge paychecks he is sending out (which he will refuse to provide) and make sure you cite the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Protection Act.
If you have already fallen victim, but have not signed the license agreement yet, the solution for getting your money back is below.
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN RIPPED OFF BUT HAVE NOT SENT IN YOUR LICENSE AGREEMENT:
You will receive a “welcome package” with a burned copy of the software and a multi page license agreement. You can still get all of your money back legally at this point. DO NOT sign the agreement, DO NOT fax it back in. Call SE Consulting toll free at 1-866-215-5037 and say you know this is a scam, you REFUSE to sign the agreement, and you demand your full refund.
Mr. Serafano is legally obligated to refund your money. If he says he is not, tell him you are initiating a chargeback with your credit card company and immediately reporting him to the Federal Trade Commission for violations of the Consumer Protection Act, and will also be in contact with the Florida Attorney General scam hotline. After getting off the phone with Mr. Serafano and he has not offered a FULL REFUND, call the Florida Consumer protection center at 1-866-9-NO-SCAM and report him.
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SIGNED THE AGREEMENT
Call 1-866-9-NO-SCAM and report Joe Serafano. Initate a chargeback with the credit card company citing fraudulent activity.
Please avoid this scam at all costs, I hope this will help some people.
Anonymous employee
Plantation, Florida
U.S.A.
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