Four people have been indicted in an employment and credit scam that targeted college students in Arizona, Attorney General Marc Brnovich announced on Thursday.
The suspects allegedly posted "help wanted" ads on Craigslist for clerical and administrative positions and interviewed applicants, mostly Phoenix-area college students--some attended Arizona State University--looking for part-time work.
The students were allegedly told they did not have good enough credit for the position and needed to raise their scores because they would be considered "investors" in the company. They were given false paystubs and a script and instructed to get a loan from a bank.
The victims told detectives they were told the company would re-pay the loans, which would in turn improve the applicants' credit scores. That allegedly didn't happen. The victims said the loans went into default and their credit scores dropped.
In total, 12 people were defrauded of $118,000, according to the Attorney General's office.
On Thursday, a Grand Jury handed up the indictment and special agents then arrested brothers Aaron Blodgett and Matthew Blodgett, and their alleged associates Zoran Vuckovic and Damir Karadascevic.
BREAKING: #AZAG Special Agents arrest suspects allegedly involved in an Craigslist employment scam. pic.twitter.com/dnDkanxCud
— Mia Garcia (@MiaGarciaAZ) April 28, 2016
All four face charges of conspiracy, illegally conducting an enterprise, fraudulent schemes and artifices, theft and securities fraud. Aaron and Matthew Blodgett also face charges of sale of unregistered securities, transactions by unregistered dealers and salesman and money laundering.
Some of the names the four men allegedly used in their ads were U-Invent, LLC; Outreach Development, LLC; Motivational Weight Loss Friends, LLC; Egroup Promotions, LLC; Society Improvement, LLC; Tailgaters Designated Drivers, LLC; Blodgett Management, LLC.
