These so-called training courses run by the Joneses are promoted through spam and have a terrible reputation. One BBB report for a previous incarnation of this scheme sums up many of the complaints that I have seen:
Grant Funding USA advertised a 3-day grant writing workshop for non-profit professionals to be held November 12-14 at the Georgetown Law School campus in Washington DC. The course was described as an overview of the grant writing process and concluding with a certificate in professional grant writing. The cost was $495. My organization paid the fee, I received a confirmation email. I received a credit card authorization letter requesting authorization; we completed and submitted it. I spoke with an individual over the phone confirming my registration. I received a registration packet (about 15 pages) with suggestions for preparation and materials to bring to the course. On the first day, November 12, I arrived at Georgetown Law at 8 AM. The guard was unaware of our course and was working on figuring out where we needed to be (there were 7 other students). After about 45 minutes, we all received an email from the organization Grant Funding USA that said our instructor had fallen ill and they were working on securing a substitute instructor to start the class by the afternoon.At 1pm, we received an email from the same email address saying that they were unable to secure a substitute for Wednesday, but class would begin promptly at 8am on Thursday. I called the number for the organization multiple times and continually got their voicemail. On Thursday, November 13 at 8AM, I arrived at Georgetown again, and found the other students in the lobby upset and confused. The guard was unaware of the course and said he had no information for us. He directed me to the Georgetown Student Life office (who would have been responsible for securing the space). They informed me that Georgetown has never heard of Grant Funding USA nor has a relationship with them. There was no workshop scheduled to be held on their campus. Grant Funding USA has not answered my numerous calls or emails. Other participants fooled by this scam were from Smithsonian Institute and State Gov't of New Jersey.This story seems to be echoed over and over again. A venue is booked at a prestigious location, but changed at the last minute. The person taking the course very often seems to be ill and doesn't turn up. Sometimes an ill-prepared substitute teacher is found, but has difficulty being paid. Calls to the so-called institute are either not answered or met with hostility. Read the comments for more stories such as this.
On to this particular scheme called "Project Management International" which should not be confused with many reputable organisations of a similar name, using the domain projectmanagementinternational.org which just frames another site at ipmam862026.sitebuilder.name.com. The "ipma" part of the name is significant as I will mention later. The site is promoted through spam email such as the one found here:
Project Management Certification Course (July 28-31, 2015: University of Southern California)
The Project Management Certification Course will be offered July 28 - 31, 2015 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA . Project management professionals, business and technology professionals, students, and educators are invited to register at the Project Management International website here .
July 28 - 31, 2015
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
The PMCC is designed for those seeking professional project management certification. It serves as both a thorough professional education and recognized certification. Those seeking additional credentials such as the PMP®/PgMP®, PMI-SP®, and PMI-RMP® will benefit from this dynamic and interactive work session, while those currently holding credentials will find the certification to be an enhancement as well as the most up to date advanced professional development.
Project Management Masters Certification program provides 36 hours of project management education, meeting education requirements for both PMI's Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) ® and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications. Additionally, the Master Certification provides 36 Professional Development Units (PDUs) for current holders of PMP®/PgMP®, PMI-SP®, and PMI-RMP® credentials.
The program meets the education requirement for all professional designations through the Project Management Institute and other professional agencies. Additionally, the program awards 3.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) upon request.
Program Description
Our certificate program teaches technical and business professionals how to master the critical skills of project management techniques as part of their technical career development.
The skills developed in the Project Management Masters Certification program apply to large and small projects, product design and development efforts, construction projects, IT projects, software development, and any project with critical performance, time, and budget targets.
Our approach to project management education offers proven, results-focused learning.
Courses are developed and facilitated by professional subject experts with extensive industrial experience. Course emphasis is on providing practical skills and tools supported by relevant case examples.
Tuition
Tuition for the four-day Project Management Certification Course is $995.00
Program Schedule and Content
1. Project Initiation, Costing, and Selection, Day 1
2. Project Organization and Leadership, Day 2
3. Detailed Project Planning, Day 2 and 3
4. Project Monitoring and Control, Day 3 and 4
5. Project Risk and Stakeholder Management, Day 4
Benefits
· A Project Management International Certificate of Accomplishment is awarded upon completion of the four day program of five courses. Completion letters are given for each course.
· Our instructors have extensive industrial experience. They focus on providing you with practical skills and tools using relevant case examples.
· Each class is highly focused and promotes maximum interaction.
· You can network with other project management professionals from a variety of industries.
· Earn Professional Development Units (PDUs) for maintenance of certification under the PMI Continuing Certification Requirements Program.
· Applicants for PMI's Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications will have met all education requirements for eligibility.
Registration
Participants may reserve a seat online at the Project Management International website, by calling the Program Office toll-free at (800) 288-8387, or by sending their name and contact information via email to the Program Registrar .
Upon receiving your registration, a confirmation email is sent to registrants that include session site information, travel information, program description, and details on how to confirm attendance and make payment arrangements.
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, simply reply to this message and write EXCLUDE to be removed from future notices.
The site is generic looking but fairly smart:
It lists some upcoming courses:
August 25 - 28, 2015: University of Houston
September 22- 25, 2015: University of Miami
October 6-9, 2015: University of Southern California
The domain was registered on May 20th 2015 to an anonymous registrant. The site itself lists no contact details on the Contact page:
It appears to be using an email address of "info@projectmanagementinternational.org" for correspondence, but a look at the underlying HTML tells a different story:
<h4> If you have any additional questions, simply email us directly at <a href="mailto:info@grantfundingusa.org?subject=ContactUS"> </a> <a href="mailto:grantfundingusa@gmail.com?subject=Contact+Us" target="_self" title="info@thefundinginstitute.org">info@projectmanagementinternational.org </a> and our coordinators will respond to you directly. </h4>The underlying code references both info@grantfundingusa.org and grantfundingusa@gmail.com (the organisation mentioned in the BBB report I mentioned earlier) and which is the same site I warned about a year ago. The only other contact details on the site are a telephone number of 800-288-8387.
The "About Project Management page" features some generic text about Project Management:
The text is almost identical to the defunct website Institute of Program Management America (IPMA) that I mentioned last year. If you remember, this new website also uses "IPMA" in its underlying URL (ipmam862026.sitebuilder.name.com) which also links the two schemes. A RipOffReport for IPMA also shows the same pattern as before.
There is little doubt that this is the same scheme as mentioned in all my previous posts on the activities of Jones and Patchrint. My personal recommendation is that you give this "Project Management International" a very wide berth, and if you feel that you have been defrauded then you would be doing a lot of people a favour if your pursued them aggressively. Also, if you have any positive (or negative) experiences then sharing them in the Comments would be appreciated.
9 comments:
I am victim. Taught a 3 day class in Seattle, WA. No payment. What can I do help? Report to FBI? I have reported this to the BBB in San Jose, CA.
@Paul - I see they have popped up again using projmanagementintl.org, I'll post and update earlier. My personal opinion is that this is fraud and could be dealt with by the FBI or local police, possibly even by the AG's Office. It may also be a matter that the FTC can look at because it is basically deceptive advertising. I don't live in the US, so the best I can do is alert people..
Update: I got paid! I called Patty Jones just about everyday for 2 weeks demanding payment and threated legal action, but they paid up. Many excuses from Patty, but I received payment for the classes I taught on April 6-8 in Seattle, WA. I encourage others to file complaints. I think Project Management International is relying on people not to complain and forget about collecting refunds or payment of services. When I called Patty, I heard often people talking in the background, so they seemed to busy and still in business. I have to admit since I have been paid I don't have incentive to pursue this further. I did file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Los Angeles, though. When talking to BBB, they recommend the following:
FBI Cyber/internet crime unit, www.Ic3.gov
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 1-877-382-4357
Consumers Affairs Department, 1-800-952-5210 or file online www.DCA.CA.GOV
Local Attorney General office
I too am a victim. Recruited through Indeed to teach. this is my 2nd class. Taught a class April 20-22,2016 in Denver. By contract, to be paid by May 22. As of June 7,still no money. Its now 2 weeks late. By phone ,I have gotten NUMEROUS PROMISES to pay by Patty Jones, but still no money. I am going to the FBI today,as this is an interstate, and cybercrime. I am compiling a list of victims. Please contact me at this site, or atmy LinkIn site: Mary L. Gannon, PMP to give me the details. Lets get these criminals.
Mary L Gannon,PMP
I too am a victim of Patty and her fat ugly husband Tony. I was so pissed with them I did an investigation and was able to see his Facebook page. He is the Ugmug behind this whole scheme and is pimping Patty. Patty is Asian, and they have children together however he has all this stuff on his page that shows that he is attracted to black women ( he is black)and does not have one picture of poor Patty on his website. She is sad because she is victimizing people and they have two children. How low down can you be. And to top it off they are living lavishly off of the fruits of other's labor. They live in a Ritz California Apartment and throw lavish parties. That's why they have to keep using and robbing people to keep up their lifestyle. They took living above your means to a whole new level. The sins of the father fall on the children. You can't tell me that the children haven't picked up on the fact that mama and daddy are scam artists. I felt horrible when I realized that I wasn't going to be paid. My family really needed the money that I thought I was working for. It really crushed my spirit having to call her repeatedly and ask for what I worked for. I even tried to plead that I was going to get evicted and that heartless thing never even attempted to take my calls. Karma is real and those two are going to crash and burn. I'm glad I got this information to contact the Government and I will be putting in my call ASAP. I wish you luck and I know your pain. Keep hounding her follow Paul's lead. Good Luck.
Thanks for adding to my comments. to add insult to injury, they are planning another Phoenix seminar later this month- perhaps you can contact the television stations? Good luck
@Mary: what is the domain name they are currently using? It seems to have changed again..
Their current website is pmadacemyusa.org. I just finished teaching a course for them yesterday. I was recruited 3 weeks ago, and I assumed that they had an instructor drop out on them. Very high profile people in the course, but I was a bit suspicious because I could not find out any details about the company. Then I came across this site. I appreciate the information about how to get paid.
We got scammed in Chicago in March. A certified instructor was recruited at the last minute, and we found out through a registrant that we were hosting a week before the event. When "Patty" contacted me after the registrant, she said their site at the University of Chicago "fell through" and asked if our church could host since it is adjacent to the University of Chicago campus. We scrambled to make it work in our space and of course neither we nor the instructor have been paid a cent. They are currently operating under a free Wix.com site: pmacademyusa.com.
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