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Report: #602423

Complaint Review: M 3 Strategy - Scottsdale Arizona

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  • Reported By: Jen — Chandler Arizona United States of America
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  • M 3 Strategy 14301 N 87th ST Scottsdale, Arizona United States of America

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Whatever you do, do not get caught up in the scam that so many others have.  I used to work at M3Strategy for a short period of time which is when I realized that this company is not legit.  First let me say that this company has been in business since June of 2009 and to my knowledge has not closed 1 deal.  Our commission structure was higher at the time of closing, and now I know why.  People have been in this program for months and have not heard anything. 

Some people in the program have only paid $100 and other have paid over $2,000 upfront to get services that have never been rendered.  Their agreement that they have you enter into is that $495 is paid to M3 Strategy upfront and there is a $1500 fee for a forensic audit.  Unfortunately, no one to my knowledge has ever performed a forensic audit on a file that I had submitted.  This was a common concern among my co-workers and me, which most of us have left their company. 

If you walk into their office they have name plates on the wall outside of each office.  These name plates range from Secrest Capital to Hudson Law Offices.  The company claims that they have a satellite offices for each department so they can be more efficient.  What they are not telling you is that Secrest Capital is owned by Michele Mitchells (CEO of M3) boyfriend Brian Secrest.  I have never seen Brain Secrest and I have never seen anyone that works for him perform an audit on any of these files.  To my knowledge Brian Secrest does not even perform this type of work at his primary job, so how would he know much about a forensic audit? I guess just enough to charge people $1500 since they will never know.  Hudson Law Office is another name listed on the wall as a satellite branch, however Dave Thompson the sales manager works in this office.  Mr. Thompson is best friends with Brian Secrest, Michele Mitchells boyfriend.  So do they really have a law team working with them? Everyone that has not quit M3 Strategy is related or best friends.  So dont expect a straight answer if you call for your file.

This company tries to differentiate them by claiming they are not like a loan modification company because they perform short-refinances.  First let me say that they will take your upfront money for a loan modification if that is what you are requesting.  Last time I checked it was illegal to charge upfront money on a loan modification, except they are getting away with it.  I believe they are getting away with the majority of the money because they are claiming they are performing a forensic audit which is never performed and they have received 3/4 s of their money.  They have you sign a separate contract for Secrest Capital which is a scapegoat for Michelle to scam people out of money upfront. 

 

M3 Strategy uses a ton of selling tactics that are all lies! First if you call and ask anyone at this company about their success rate they will tell you 100%.  They say they have never lost a deal.  Well, what you dont know is the reason they have never lost a deal is because they have never won a deal to compare it to.  All of their files at one point when I worked there were sitting in cardboard boxes stacked in rooms that no one works in at their office.  The sales people will say that the guidelines for the process are strict and they do not take on every case. So you think when they call you that you must be in a good situation because they are going to help you.  Dont be fooled. First, the rule that is given by the Director Donna is to not call the customer before 48hours to let them know that they were approved.  So of course you think that M 3 Strategy spent all of this time working on your file to see if they could take on your case, what you dont know is that they will take on every case.  They claim that they need to run your information through a software system that will accept or decline you.  Which is true, the only problem is that there is a glitch in the software because it will accept everyone.  This program accepted customers that had high debt ratios where they could never get a new loan, yet the program says it will accept, and then the company will take your money.  The glitch was pointed out to Dave Thompson, however who knows if they ever fixed it. I am not sure that it would matter anyway because they are just going to take your money no matter what.

All sales people at M3 Strategy will tell you that they work with all lenders.  They will even work with credit unions.  One day I had a customer from AZ call in that has his mortgage with a credit union.  I asked Dave Thompson what should I do because it seems that credit unions dont work with us.  He said One day I was sitting at the front desk and the phone rang late in the day.  I ansered and it was someone from a credit union (I believe it was Dessert Schools in AZ but cant remember that for sure) and the representative from this credit union specifically told Dave that they do not work with any loan modification or 3rd party negoitators.  So Dave tells me that he wants to check to see if we can take on the case of this customer of mine.  Well, of course he come back to say that we can and we will work them as much as we can.  So what that tells me is that they dont care and they will take your $2000 upfront no matter if you cannot qualify for a new loan, or if they know that they cannot work with your lender.

If you questions my observations I will invite you to check out the owner, Michele Mitchells criminal background at Maricopa County Superior Court website to see for yourself http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/.  While working with others in that office that knew Michele years ago when she was married, they informed me that her name then was Michele Landeros.  If that is correct she has a criminal record as well.  I did not know Michele then to confirm that this is her married name, however if you read the criminal /civil cases against her it appears to be the same person.  The reason I came to this conclusion is because there is a case where a mortgage company called Diversified Capital was being sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars.  What this tells me is that she was scamming people out of money back in 2004 and before that.  Michele has been in the banking business for 15 years so she knows a lot of ins and outs to convince people of anything.  Anyone that knows Michele knows that she is selfish and only looks out for herself.  She will scam her friends and probably even her family because it appears that she doesnt have a conscience.

If you check Ripoff Report for Michele Landeros and Diversified Capital you will see a mom that took the time to warn others about Michele.  The problem is that Michele Mitchell opened another company in another name.  Probably because she had a lawsuit that was too big to pay so I am not sure if she filed bankruptcy or not but it wouldnt surprise me.  Diversified Capitals office was located on the same street and the next building down as where her current office is.  People in her office have stated that her married name is Michele Landeros.  Coincidentally this woman has a record with the state because of a mortgage company.

After a short period of time working at this company I knew right away that something wasnt right and this company if legit wouldnt have files with peoples social security numbers, credit card info, bank and loan information stuck in cardboard boxes.  I would be concerned about privacy issues, and identity theft with information like this just laying around in boxes.  If successful they would have a staff that wouldnt quit in a month which seems to happen to them often.  Their staff is comprised of 2 teenage girls (Micheles daughter and her best friend from high school) negotiating deals.  The lead negotiator that is considered and expert is probably in his early to mid 20s.  The girl that used to sit at the front desk would wear all black clothing with black chokers around her neck.  If you could see the staff that works there you would know right away that you wouldnt give $2000 of your money upfront. 

I was supposed to receive 1 last paycheck from M3Strategy.  From the day that I left I was in contact with them to make sure they would pay me what was owed.  Unfortunately, these emails went back and forth with Donna Hubbs (Director) and Michele Mitchell (CEO) try to collect on my earned wages.  I am not sure why I thought she would scam others and not me.  Needless to say I have a small claim against her in court right now.  I have a stack of emails of Michele and Donna acknowledging that they owe me money.  These emails just have excuses as to why they cannot pay me.  I am submitting this to the court and I will add another case to her record. 

After researching M 3 Strategy I have found some interesting facts.  M3 Strategy is not a company that is registered with the state of AZ.  If you contact the corporate commission of AZ they will tell you that they do not have a record of this company.  If you contact the Secretary of State office of AZ you will find that they have no record of M 3 Strategy. 

If you have been scammed by this company call the Attorney Generals Office of AZ  602.542.5025.  Dont let others be victims as well.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 05/12/2010 07:56 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/m-3-strategy/scottsdale-arizona-85260/m-3-strategy-michele-mitchell-i-worked-for-this-company-and-they-just-scam-people-out-of-m-602423. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
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3Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#5 Consumer Comment

Need Your Help

AUTHOR: rebel - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Hi Again...sorry I haven't written back sooner but we have been trying to increase our opportunities of finding where the satellite offices are located and attempt to get the money taken from my kids back. Michele has been very evasive and all leads we have gotten so far have landed us right back where we started.  Since most of her information is falsified, we need to rely on what the people who actually worked for her can do to reach out and get her out of the scamming business.  The You Pay For It is a segment of Channel 12 news that airs at 10:00 pm--the girl who was hosting I think had a baby so it's been off for a short time, but I did hear it tonight...anyway, they feature people who are in need of help or advice on a particular issue...in late May a man who applied for the short refi and was scammed around like everyone else by M3 Strategy had his lawyer contact Michele for his refund on the refundable contract.  She said she would have the check ready and of course when he went to pick it up there were signs on the door, etc. etc. Then they focused on the Attorney General who gave the warning signs of being scammed and never give your money up front to these company's.  The next week Channel 12 contacted her and she agreed to talk but not on camera...said she did nothing wrong that it was the fault of the banks for working so slowly....so we are willing to work toward that common goal, but need more info....do you know where Brian Secrest works??? How many kids she has?  Where are their satellite offices?  Where is Chris Ellis???  What kind of vehicle does she drive?  Brian drive?  Where they hang out?  I PROMISE I will investigate and keep you updated---seems she's been sliming along for a very long time......now it's time for someone to bait and hook her.  She's a keeper, not one that gets thrown back in to get bigger and bigger for the next guy out fishing.

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#4 Author of original report

It is frusterating

AUTHOR: M 3 Strategy - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, June 08, 2010

I am in the same situation.  I have just filed for a default judgement to win my case because Michele never responded so that is almost the same as her not showing up to court so I should win.  Plus I have all of the evidence that I submitted so there is no reason why I would lose the case. I will know in 2 more weeks because this has been going on for about 2 months now.  I only need her address to get any wages garnished or hire a collection company.  I just set up this email address to correspond with you outside of RipOff Report.  If you like email m3strategyisascam@gmail.com .  I am curious about the news show you paid for it? I didnt see it but I would like to see what they had to say. 

 

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#3 Consumer Comment

All In The Same Sinking Boat

AUTHOR: rebel - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Thank you for your response.  At the beginning of May we filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General's Office because it became quite evident that Michele was up to no good when she promised week after week to have a refund check ready and left empty handed each trip.  Fortunately, she was exposed on Channel 12 News - You Paid For It - last week.  I'm wondering how many people it would take for the Attorney General to send this information to Rick Romley's office, the Maricopa County Attorney?



My daughter-in-law spoke with an Attorney who advised her to file a law suit against the company, Michele Mitchell and Chris Ellis--and that she could do it on her own, and she did.  Now the challenge is finding her as she is very shrewd and elusive.  I do believe that the person with the criminal case against her in Maricopa Superior Court is Michele and she did have a bench warrant out for her arrest.  Her pattern seems to be to retain multiple lawyers and make motions to dismiss counsel so the cases drag on and on.  Wilbur Hudson was one of several dismissed from her current criminal case.  Interesting, huh?



Thankfully we have encountered some very nice people who have been associated with this awful company and with persistence I am confident there are many people who would like nothing more than to see this woman and her cronnies in jail for a very long time. I hope you get your pay--but how could you trust that the check wouldn't bounce?



And those people who heard her "unbelievable" radio broadcast from Lake Havasu and streamed through the internet?  Oh my goodness.........



 
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#2 Author of original report

Do you know where Michele Mitchell is??

AUTHOR: M 3 Strategy - (United States of America)

POSTED: Monday, June 07, 2010

I am sorry to hear your story. That is the most I think I have heard of her charging for those services.  To my knowledge the range for her services went from $100-$4000.  It is a shame that your family has paid this amount of money to have her help them which she wasnt able to do.  I have no idea as to Michele Mitchells where abouts, however I can tell you that I checked Maricopa County Court website and it looks as though she had a bench warrant issued on June 4th 2010.  She has a criminal case against her as well as a new civil suit against her from a managment company. She may be in jail? I am not sure.  I have tried to call the office number because I need to know her address as well because I have a small claim against her in court as we speak.  It sounds like her company has been shut down because I dont believe that her office space is still being occcupied and the phone has been disconnected.  Please let me know if you find her address. 

I am not sure if you were able to contact the Attorney General's office and if you havent please do so.  I had contacted them shortly after I left her company back in March. This is important for those like your family that need justice for being scammed out of money.  I have contacted a few other agenicies to help take her company down so she cannot scam any others.  These agencies need to hear from more than 1 person to complete an investigation.  If you know anyone else that has been scammed by her, have them contact the Attorney Generals office as well. I am not sure what is going on with all of these other court casis against her however I am hoping to see her in jail from all of it.  I would also like to see those that knew she was scamming people out of money go down as well.  That would be Donna Hubbs and Dave Thompson because they worked closely with her and would know that she is up to no good!  

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#1 Consumer Comment

Absolute Truth

AUTHOR: rebel - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, May 30, 2010

Unfortunately, my son and daughter-in-law have been scammed by Michele Mitchell and M3 Strategy for $4400.  The factual information you presented is clearly the map of lies, deceit, broken promises and immoral conduct by this company and CEO, Ms. Mitchell.


Like all the others who have come forward, it took about 6 months before we realized the short refinance modification program at M3 Strategy was a scam.  For 2 months we have been trying to get our money back, but to no avail.  We, too, have stacks of email saying the money will be refunded and one excuse after another for the delay.

Michele Mitchell and David Reitchner were the guests of a call-in radio show, station KJJJ/KNTR, pontificating their claim to fame was their strategic approach they have created and mastered, as well as the numerous victories under their belt that helped homeowner's realize the possibility of retaining their home because they had not succumbed to the mythology that they must go late on their mortgage payment to get the attention of the bank. How many broadcast listener's do you think they seduced into their scam??

If you have any idea where she can be located, we would appreciate the information.



 



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