$350,000 Available in Consumer Redress in Airline Job Placement Scam

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it will begin to distribute refunds from a $350,000 fund to consumers who signed up with Careers, Inc., a Michigan firm that deceptively marketed employment services for airline jobs. Consumers who purchased services from Careers must obtain a claim form and return it to the address below by March 13, 1998. To obtain a claim form, consumers can write to:

Careers, Inc. Refund Offer
c/o Garden City Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 9379
Garden City, NY 11530-9379

To prove their claim, consumers will need to provide documents showing they purchased services from Careers and how much they paid. Proof of claim can include a credit card statement showing the purchase, a canceled check, a money order receipt or the package of materials Careers sent to purchasers. Consumers who previously notified the FTC’s Cleveland Regional Office that they purchased Careers, Inc.’s employment services will receive a claim form automatically.

The redress fund was established following settlement of FTC charges that the firm and its principals deceptively claimed that they were affiliated with airlines, that they had special access to job openings, that consumers were likely to obtain airline jobs in their chosen geographic areas if they used their services, and that they would provide a refund of their fee if consumers were dissatisfied. Few, if any, consumers ever received the type of jobs promised and the vast majority of consumers never received their money back, according to the FTC. In addition to the consumer redress fund, the settlement bars the defendants from making false or misleading statements in connection with offering employment services and requires Careers, Inc.’s principals, Daniel T. Faulkner and Nicholas S. Mancino, to post a bond (or establish an escrow account) in the amount of $250,000 before participating in any way in an employment service. The bond could be used for refunds to consumers should the defendants be found to engage in similar deceptive practices in the future.

Copies of the documents associated with this case are available from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-3128; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.

(FTC File No. X960072)
(Civil Action No. 96 72710)