Over the Christmas holiday, I found an old flyer advertising loan modification help with a phone number of 877-435-7145. There was no name or return address on the letter so it made me very suspicious. Imagine my surprise when I dialed the number and someone saying “American Tax Network” answered it. I thought I had a wrong number so I just hung up and checked the number again. I did dial it again and got the same person with the same “American Tax Network”. I asked if they did loan modifications and the man said to hold on and transferred me to another individual that answered, “Law offices” I asked whom am I speaking to and they gave me their name. I hung up.
I googled the number and found not 1 but 3 different lawyers, Alkana Law Group, Crawford Law Group, and Law Office of Ronald A. Norman. I also found some company called Legal Choice Solutions as well as someone named DJ Dynamike with a reference to Ron Jeremy. I then googled the lawyers and found numerous complaints about Alkana loan mod scams here on the complaints board. He has a D rating with the BBB. When I googled his name I found a website, www.alkanalawfirm.com. When I went to the site, imagine my surprise to find out they are out of business. I was informed that if I wanted an update to call a different number all together. With all the names and numbers popping up I knew I found a scam, another telemarketing firm using whatever lawyer stupid enough to try to make a buck off other people in trouble.
One thing concerned me, who is American Tax Network? I googled the number and found their site, along with a phone number 866-222-5771. I called the number and asked to speak to the individual I had talked to earlier for loan mod and I was immediately transferred to him. I got his voice mail, referring to the “American Tax Network”. I called the loan mod number 877-435-7145 number again and asked to speak to the same person, and again I got his voice mail “American Tax Network. I googled the phone number 866-222-5771 and found not only “American Tax Network” but “Tax Network USA” as well as a listing to some Sharen Neuhardt and a link to a tax lawyer in Long Island.
I looked up American Tax Network on the BBB and found they have an address in San Francisco. Odd as Alkana is in Pasadena, just outside LA. With Alkana having a “D” rating I assumed they would have the same but no they have an “A - ldquo;rating. The BBB also has American Tax Network listed with an aka of Tax Network USA. They had only been with the BBB since Dec 23 09 and only incorporated since July. They had only been a company for 6 months and with the BBB for two weeks BUT they have an A - rating! I called the BBB here in Florida and asked if it was possible to have an A - rating after only six months incorporated and two weeks as a BBB member and was told that it was not. You have to be in business and listed with the BBB for at least a year in order to get an A - rating. He told me that either the joining date was wrong or the rating was wrong and they promised me they would look into it.
My best guess is they are a telemarketing firm, hired out by lawyers and whatnot to answer phone calls and pretend to be a loan mod company, or a tax firm, or if DJ Dynamike is for real, spokesmen for Ron Jeremy.
How many ways can you say, smell, speak or spell fraud? This looks to be a total scam company and I would be very leery of them.
Jane Wilson
Orlando Florida.
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