Unicom, John Hollis, Jose Gonsales RIPPED ME OFF! JOSE GONSALES CHARGED W/FELONIES IN INDIANA, PAID RESTITUTION TO SOME THROUGH INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL. spent nearly $40,000 on what was to be a lucrative, turn-key business and ended up getting NOTHING but two webphones worth about $2,500 each Indianpolis Indiana

My problems began in March 2004, when I decided to start my own business. I saw Unicom's ad in a local newspaper, and following a few conversations with John Hollis and Jose Gosales, I bought two web-phones and eleven dedicated AP [Access Point] Internet hot spot boxes from Unicom, for a total of $18,100. Along with the equipment was to come full support, referal to locators and installers, and I paid thousands of dollars more to set up land lines, locators servies that were only partially completed by a third party in Florida, and ended up sending three of the boxes to one Joe Bailey, an installer who was to set up the equipment at locations in Sacramento, California.

There were technical problems all the way along, and support I was promised was sparse at first, then stopped altogether. They told me that Unicom had fired John Hollis because they caught him using cocaine in their office, and I was turned over to the president of the company, Jose Gonsales, and one Richard Bailey who provided a small amount of support before vanishing.

What I paid for was a turn-key business; the AP boxes normally retail for about $59, but I paid $1,100 each as I was promised a monthly return of $300 per box, and $500 each on the Internet terminal "web phones."

The equipment arrived, and has been sitting in my basement for over two years. The Unicom server was shut down in early 2005, and the company was apparently dissolved.

Joseph Gonsales was indicted on several felony counts of fraud and illegal securities sales; more details are online at http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff129800.htm

I contracted a total of seven telephone lines with high speed Internet access, and never made one cent. Jose Gonsales settled with a number of Indiana investors through the Attorney General in exchange for the criminal charges being dropped. I spent a number of days trying to get one of the AP boxes working at a local restaurant, without success. There were constant problems with the software and firmware in the boxes, and with Unicom's server. I was sent a supply of pre-paid access cards, but couldn't offer them to the public with the service not working.

In addition, I paid thousands of dollars for accessories needed to boost the AP signal, such as signal amplifiers, antennae and cabling, Ethernet routers, plug adapters, lightning arrestors, grounding and enclosures for equipment that was to be installed outdoors.

Altogether, I spent nearly $40,000 on what was to be a lucrative, turn-key business and ended up getting NOTHING but two webphones worth about $2,500 each and a total of eight $59 AP boxes [3 were absconded by Joe Bailey, the installer.]

Douglas
Cambridge, Massachusetts
U.S.A.