On Wednesday, it was announced that a federal jury in Atlanta had convicted the former co-owner and operator of the National Vocation Group of wire fraud. Erick Powell ran the job staffing group with second defendant and co-owner, Ahmad McCormick. McCormick pleaded guilty to wire fraud on August 31, 2017. Evidence shows that Powell and Ahmad McCormick operated a fraudulent job staffing company in Atlanta from August 2015 to October 2015.
The duo used Indeed.com and ZipRecruiter.com to advertise available jobs in maintenance and housekeeping. The positions usually paid wages above the average. The advertisements falsely represented that National Vocation Group had existing contracts with commercial cleaning companies throughout the Atlanta area, that the jobs offered wages of up to $17 per hour and that NVG could help its clients obtain those high-paying jobs.
When applicant clients were interviewed by the defendants, they were told that they would need to pay $349 for certain OSHA training. They were falsely told that federal law required those working in housecleaning and maintenance to take OSHA General Industries Courses before starting work. As a result, hundreds of applicants paid the fee. None of the applicants received the high-paying jobs that they were promised.
Several victims spoke with local media outlets, as well as law enforcement. National Vocation Group eventually moved its offices from downtown Atlanta to East Point, Georgia and continued its fraudulent activities. It was eventually disbanded in mid-October 2015.The defendants continued operating other fraudulent job-staffing companies after National Vocation Group ceased operations. Additional details have been made available here.