Metro Lending Group Personal Loan Scam Wayne New Jersey

This report has been generated as the result of a financial fraud that was committed against me by Avenue Financial Group (AFG) which actually does not exist but the address they provide on their letterhead is 595 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530. The telephone number that was used during all communications is 866.403.6662 and the fax number that was used is 516.977.1030. Their website is www.avenuefinancial.net. The names of the two people that I spoke with are Brenda Olsen (x384) and Dennis Crown (x0).

On December 5, 2008 I conducted an online search for a long term personal loan. I immediately recognized that name Lending Tree, LLC at www.lendingtree.com and decided to check further into the process required to obtain a loan. All that was required was that I fill out an application consisting of personal information such as my social security number and address. On December 9, 2008 I was contacted by Brenda Olsen who stated that I had been approved for a $5,000 loan through Avenue Financial Group based out of New York. After searching for the company name online, I found multiple companies throughout the United States and Canada with the same name, checked the BBB which didn't have any positive or negative information, and researched their website @ www.avenuefinancial.net.

Brenda explained that because this was a secured loan that I would need to provide collateral for insurance purposes as stated in the faxed agreement. The collateral required consisted of and was equal to 5 monthly payments totaling $1,107.20 and since I was making such a large payment upfront that I would not need to begin repaying the loan until June of 2009 for two years at $221.00 per month for 2 years. I reviewed the documents numerous times. Everything appeared to be completely legitimate. I borrowed money against my 401K account in order to pay for the collateral. On December 15, 2008 I contacted Brenda Olsen to inform her that I had the collateral payment required to secure the loan. Brenda explained that the lender was located in Canada and that I needed to wire the funds directly to them. I asked Brenda how to wire the money since I had never wired money before. She told me to go to Walmart and ask for a red and white form called a Money Gram. I was to send the monies to Christine Osborne in Thompson, MB, Canada. Because the fee was going to be $22.00 Brenda told me to simply send $1,100 and the remaining monies would be credited to my loan. I followed all of these instructions and contacted Brenda to provide her with the reference number. Brenda stated that the $5,000 loan would be directly deposited into my account on December 16, 2008.

On the morning of December 16, 2009 I received a phone message from Dennis Crown who identified himself as the customer service manager of AFG. Dennis stated in this message that there had been a slight problem with my loan and needed to contact him immediately. Upon contacting Dennis, I learned that the lender after reassessing my loan needed to purchase an additional $1,100 in insurance to secure the loan. My other option was to receive a full refund but that I would not be able to receive this refund until January 5, 2009. I contacted Brenda Olsen who appeared to be completely unaware of the situation and stated that Dennis was a good man and would take good care of me. Brenda also stated that Dennis needed to speak with me again. I contacted Dennis once again who stated that he had spoken with the lender and that they would work something out with me for an additional $800 instead of the original $1,100 to secure the loan. I wired an additional $800 to Christine Osborne in Thompson, MB, Canada through a Money Gram at Walmart. Because the amount wired was less than $800, I was only required to pay $14.16 for the Money Gram fee.

I shared this information with a friend who began to research the company online. She found reports posted by others on www.ripoffreport.com that were identical to my experience with the same exact company. These individuals stated that their loans were never deposited into their checking accounts after making two collateral payments. I knew at that point that I had been deceived. I contacted my local police department who filed a report with Financial Crimes. The following day I closed my checking account because they had my checking account number in order to transfer the loan. I also contacted all three credit bureaus to prevent identity theft since these criminals had all of person information such as my social security number had a copy of my passport that I provided for their request of a government ID. The reason I provided this document as opposed to my drivers license is because I was in my office and it was quicker than getting my wallet out of my purse.

Dennis Crown had the nerve to contact me a third time. This time he stated that they would provide me with a $10,000 loan but that I needed to pay an additional 10 monthly payments. I told him no and demanded a refund in the amount of $1,900. I pretended that I wasn't aware that they had deceived me. Dennis informed me that a refund would be made on January 5, 2009 but since the company doesn't exist I know that I will never see this money again unless someone finds these criminals and prosecutes them to the fullest extent possible. This experience has been completely and utterly devastating. I have been severely violated, am in complete distress, lost weight, and have no idea how I will function emotionally or financially in the next coming weeks and months.

The website of Avenue Financial was created on 11.05.08 through SiteTiki.com which is a company based out of Singapore. This information can be obtained through the WHOIS database which I discovered on the BBB website. According to http://www.ripoffreport.com/default.asp, there are a series of companies that are potentially being operated by the same people. This inference was derived as a result of the reports filed by other individuals indicating the exact same scam and strategies utilized. I have documented these and am happy to share them with anyone who can help. In addition, Jason from LA who also went through Lending Tree, LLC (see http://www.ripoffreport.com/default.asp) has contacted an attorney in LA as he was scammed out of more than $5,000 and is seeking to file a civil lawsuit

I pray that there is someone out there that can and is willing to assist me and other victims in finding these individuals who are hacking into Lending Tree's website before they violate and take advantage of other innocent people. Please contact me if you have any information as to what I can do to seek justice and to put an end to their criminal practices.
Other Fraudulent and Fake Companies all being Operated by the Same Individuals:

Trenton Financial Group
Stanford Financial Group
Watson Financial Group
Beacon Financial Group
Fairway Financial Group
Bellwood Financial Group
National Trust Financial Group
Winchester Lending Group
Metro Lending Group
Charter Lending Group
Prevathon Lending Group
Moneta Lending Group
Invesco Lending Group
Oakdale Lending Group
Winfield Lending Group
Vision Lending Corporation
Capital Lending
Clearview Lending
Birchcliff Lending
Sutherland Lending
Parkway Lending
Superior Lending
First Universal Lending
Avalon Lending Services

If you have been a victim please contact your local authorities immediately. In addition, contact all three credit bureaus to protect your identity. You may also need to close your checking account.

Moreover, make sure to file reports with http://www.ftc.gov/index.shtml, http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx, and all other government agencies such as the BBB, attorney general, and FBI as well as any media groups. Please share your story with Fraud Watchers as well.

Dianne:

I am so sorry that something like that happened to you. That woman Sally Reynolds also called me with the same story and thank God I never send any money to them, I received the loan papers and inmediately i knew all was a fake information, I did research on the company and believe me I found a few interesting things. The fax the send to me was from Canada and i called that number and it is a cellular #. Dont let something like that happens again, i did call the FBI here in ohio and they will be investigating, go ahead and call them and explain the situation so they can hurry the process of investigation and get this people directly to jail.
Good luck and if you heard something else let me know.

Wilbert

Dianne:

I am so sorry that something like that happened to you. That woman Sally Reynolds also called me with the same story and thank God I never send any money to them, I received the loan papers and inmediately i knew all was a fake information, I did research on the company and believe me I found a few interesting things. The fax the send to me was from Canada and i called that number and it is a cellular #. Dont let something like that happens again, i did call the FBI here in ohio and they will be investigating, go ahead and call them and explain the situation so they can hurry the process of investigation and get this people directly to jail.
Good luck and if you heard something else let me know.

Wilbert

Dianne:

I am so sorry that something like that happened to you. That woman Sally Reynolds also called me with the same story and thank God I never send any money to them, I received the loan papers and inmediately i knew all was a fake information, I did research on the company and believe me I found a few interesting things. The fax the send to me was from Canada and i called that number and it is a cellular #. Dont let something like that happens again, i did call the FBI here in ohio and they will be investigating, go ahead and call them and explain the situation so they can hurry the process of investigation and get this people directly to jail.
Good luck and if you heard something else let me know.

Wilbert

Dianne:

I am so sorry that something like that happened to you. That woman Sally Reynolds also called me with the same story and thank God I never send any money to them, I received the loan papers and inmediately i knew all was a fake information, I did research on the company and believe me I found a few interesting things. The fax the send to me was from Canada and i called that number and it is a cellular #. Dont let something like that happens again, i did call the FBI here in ohio and they will be investigating, go ahead and call them and explain the situation so they can hurry the process of investigation and get this people directly to jail.
Good luck and if you heard something else let me know.

Wilbert

Well you are right about some things, you will never be getting your money back. As to the rest you are a bit off, so here is some information so you don't fall for it again.

You fell for a very common scam called the "Advanced Loan Fee Scam". You never send money in advance for a loan. It does not matter what reason they give you, if you send the money it is gone forever. If you did additional research you will find that "going to New Jersey" would do you no good. Not because you don't have the money for a lawyer, but because that company does not exist. They are actually in Canada and every name and company name they gave you was false(or they are using the name of legitimate people). Oh and don't worry about them suing you.

Well you are right about some things, you will never be getting your money back. As to the rest you are a bit off, so here is some information so you don't fall for it again.

You fell for a very common scam called the "Advanced Loan Fee Scam". You never send money in advance for a loan. It does not matter what reason they give you, if you send the money it is gone forever. If you did additional research you will find that "going to New Jersey" would do you no good. Not because you don't have the money for a lawyer, but because that company does not exist. They are actually in Canada and every name and company name they gave you was false(or they are using the name of legitimate people). Oh and don't worry about them suing you.

Well you are right about some things, you will never be getting your money back. As to the rest you are a bit off, so here is some information so you don't fall for it again.

You fell for a very common scam called the "Advanced Loan Fee Scam". You never send money in advance for a loan. It does not matter what reason they give you, if you send the money it is gone forever. If you did additional research you will find that "going to New Jersey" would do you no good. Not because you don't have the money for a lawyer, but because that company does not exist. They are actually in Canada and every name and company name they gave you was false(or they are using the name of legitimate people). Oh and don't worry about them suing you.

Well you are right about some things, you will never be getting your money back. As to the rest you are a bit off, so here is some information so you don't fall for it again.

You fell for a very common scam called the "Advanced Loan Fee Scam". You never send money in advance for a loan. It does not matter what reason they give you, if you send the money it is gone forever. If you did additional research you will find that "going to New Jersey" would do you no good. Not because you don't have the money for a lawyer, but because that company does not exist. They are actually in Canada and every name and company name they gave you was false(or they are using the name of legitimate people). Oh and don't worry about them suing you.

I am really sorry that you got scammed. I unfortunately was scammed by another group under the same guise in late October. They didn't have the audacity to tell me I wouldn't get the refund, it just never showed up in my bank account on the day promised.

I am really sorry that you got scammed. I unfortunately was scammed by another group under the same guise in late October. They didn't have the audacity to tell me I wouldn't get the refund, it just never showed up in my bank account on the day promised.

I am really sorry that you got scammed. I unfortunately was scammed by another group under the same guise in late October. They didn't have the audacity to tell me I wouldn't get the refund, it just never showed up in my bank account on the day promised.

You got hit by an advance fee loan scam. the whole point was steal as much money from you as they could before you figured out it was a scam.

No legitimate lender asks for payments in advance.

You can read all about it on the Federal Trade Commission website
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel16.shtm

Hundreds maybe thousands of people are posting about it here and other complaint boards.

They prey on people with low income and bad credit because they usually do not do the research before sending the money to the scammers.

The business name they use changes constantly - so you cannot search on business, you have to search on loan scams. they also steal the names of legitimate businesses to help with the fraud. Usually the address is bogus.

Although they usually give you enough bogus information to look at. If an address is provided - try and map it - they usually cannot be mapped.

This is similar to the tactics used by lottery/sweepstakes and Mystery Shopping Scams. In these cases they send fake checks for several thousand dollars - and get you to send most of it back to them to pay "fees and taxes" for the lottery/sweepstakes scams. Legitimate lotteries/sweepstakes take the fees and taxes FIRST before ever sending you money and reports it to the IRS

Or claim Money Gram is one of your Shopping Tasks for Mystery Shopping

When the check bounces - you now owe the bank the money and in some cases can be arrested for passing bad checks.

You got hit by an advance fee loan scam. the whole point was steal as much money from you as they could before you figured out it was a scam.

No legitimate lender asks for payments in advance.

You can read all about it on the Federal Trade Commission website
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel16.shtm

Hundreds maybe thousands of people are posting about it here and other complaint boards.

They prey on people with low income and bad credit because they usually do not do the research before sending the money to the scammers.

The business name they use changes constantly - so you cannot search on business, you have to search on loan scams. they also steal the names of legitimate businesses to help with the fraud. Usually the address is bogus.

Although they usually give you enough bogus information to look at. If an address is provided - try and map it - they usually cannot be mapped.

This is similar to the tactics used by lottery/sweepstakes and Mystery Shopping Scams. In these cases they send fake checks for several thousand dollars - and get you to send most of it back to them to pay "fees and taxes" for the lottery/sweepstakes scams. Legitimate lotteries/sweepstakes take the fees and taxes FIRST before ever sending you money and reports it to the IRS

Or claim Money Gram is one of your Shopping Tasks for Mystery Shopping

When the check bounces - you now owe the bank the money and in some cases can be arrested for passing bad checks.

You got hit by an advance fee loan scam. the whole point was steal as much money from you as they could before you figured out it was a scam.

No legitimate lender asks for payments in advance.

You can read all about it on the Federal Trade Commission website
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel16.shtm

Hundreds maybe thousands of people are posting about it here and other complaint boards.

They prey on people with low income and bad credit because they usually do not do the research before sending the money to the scammers.

The business name they use changes constantly - so you cannot search on business, you have to search on loan scams. they also steal the names of legitimate businesses to help with the fraud. Usually the address is bogus.

Although they usually give you enough bogus information to look at. If an address is provided - try and map it - they usually cannot be mapped.

This is similar to the tactics used by lottery/sweepstakes and Mystery Shopping Scams. In these cases they send fake checks for several thousand dollars - and get you to send most of it back to them to pay "fees and taxes" for the lottery/sweepstakes scams. Legitimate lotteries/sweepstakes take the fees and taxes FIRST before ever sending you money and reports it to the IRS

Or claim Money Gram is one of your Shopping Tasks for Mystery Shopping

When the check bounces - you now owe the bank the money and in some cases can be arrested for passing bad checks.

You got hit by an advance fee loan scam. the whole point was steal as much money from you as they could before you figured out it was a scam.

No legitimate lender asks for payments in advance.

You can read all about it on the Federal Trade Commission website
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel16.shtm

Hundreds maybe thousands of people are posting about it here and other complaint boards.

They prey on people with low income and bad credit because they usually do not do the research before sending the money to the scammers.

The business name they use changes constantly - so you cannot search on business, you have to search on loan scams. they also steal the names of legitimate businesses to help with the fraud. Usually the address is bogus.

Although they usually give you enough bogus information to look at. If an address is provided - try and map it - they usually cannot be mapped.

This is similar to the tactics used by lottery/sweepstakes and Mystery Shopping Scams. In these cases they send fake checks for several thousand dollars - and get you to send most of it back to them to pay "fees and taxes" for the lottery/sweepstakes scams. Legitimate lotteries/sweepstakes take the fees and taxes FIRST before ever sending you money and reports it to the IRS

Or claim Money Gram is one of your Shopping Tasks for Mystery Shopping

When the check bounces - you now owe the bank the money and in some cases can be arrested for passing bad checks.