TREASURE ISLAND – She seemed very sweet indeed.
When Charlie Weisgerber opened the front door to his home and saw the young, energetic 20-something on his doorstep, he welcomed her into his home.
The young woman introduced herself as “Megan,” and told Charlie and his wife, Jan, all about the championship softball team she was on at the University of Florida, how the team was invited by a championship team in Japan to play there, and how she and her teammates were raising money through the sale of magazine subscriptions for traveling expenses. Part of the proceeds, she said, would go toward buying books for All Children’s Hospital.
Did she live around here? Weisgerber asked her. Yes, she said. She lived in Treasure Island and was the daughter of a pediatrician who practiced in St. Petersburg.
“She was so glib, so convincing,” said Weisgerber. “We were so convinced that we wrote a check for $99.”
What Weisgerber learned later that week was that, at the least, Megan misrepresented herself. But he fears he fell victim to a scam, one that has made its way around the country, and which has been around for years.
At first, though, Weisgerber – who is often dubbed one of T.I.’s best cheerleaders – was so taken with the young lady that he contacted the Beacon, who then attempted to get in touch with her through her father, in order to do a human interest story. The doctor ended up being a child psychiatrist, who doesn’t have a daughter, but who does, by the way, reside in Treasure Island. He requested his name not be printed.
The roster of the UF softball team didn’t include her name, either.
Weisgerber immediately stopped payment on his check and reported his suspicions to the police and an investigation was launched.
The company name on the receipt that “Megan” gave Weisgerber is inscribed with the business name, Ultimate Power Sales, Inc.
A Google search of the company reveals numerous complaints and first person accounts about representatives of the company, as well as employees of it, on Web sites such as “Rip-Off Report.” The site includes rebuttals to the claims, saying the company delivers what it promises. The site also includes links to news stories on the subject.
For instance, an Oct. 22, 2002 report from the Kansas City Channel.com warns residents against a group of young people going door-to-door raising money. Three people were arrested, the report says, after saying they raised money for everything from volleyball teams to children’s charities to hospitals. The group was said to be a part of Ultimate Power Sales, or United Family Circulation, a for-profit company out of Georgia – the same name and address that is on Weisgerber’s receipt.
The Web site http://edumacation.com reports on United Family Circulation, also with the names Ultimate Power Sales, Ultimate Empire Sales and Xtreme Marketing.
Under a separate listing for “Magazine Sales Scams” the Web site states that most magazine subscription scams fit into one of three categories: telemarketing, direct mail and field sales.
It advises that in field sales, “Kids trying to win a prize, earn tuition, go to camp, whatever it is, knock on your door and try to convince you that it’s all for a good cause. The kids who sign up for this work often get scammed as much as the customers who buy the subscriptions, getting promises of reasonable incomes but finding out later that this is not the easy work it was represented to be. None of this money from this scam goes to charity.”
The national Field Selling Association is the industry trade group for companies that recruit students, with magazine subscription sales the most popular offering. United Family Circulation and Xtreme Marketing is listed as members.
A representative from United Family Circulation, who did not give her name but said she was in sales, said that not everything written on the Internet is true and that any magazines that are purchased through the company are received. She referred the matter to a manager, who did not return messages.
Detective David Schilt of the T.I. Police did not receive any return calls from the company, either. He said that he has not received any reports of people not receiving the product ordered, “It’s the way they’re going about it that is suspicious.”
Another resident allowed a book salesman into her home, and wrote a check when he refused to leave.
Schilt warned against allowing anyone into the home, and said the city requires any solicitor to have a license. Residents should ask to see it, and a photo ID, he said. If any suspicious people do come to the door, residents are advised to notify police.
Looking back, Weisgerber said he should have realized the sales person’s story was shaky, especially when he asked her if she lived near a certain individual and she said she did.
“She was a well rehearsed young lady with a great deal of enthusiasm,” said Weisgerber. “I tell you, she’s wasting her time on magazines. She ought to be on the afternoon soap show.”
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Revision r1.1 - 28 Sep 2005 - 19:33 by EliMantel
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