Feds Bust Dependable Locksmith Company
Here is a video pulled from 10connects. We’re glad to see that the government has found a way to stop them, whether it be because of scamming people or other fraudulent behavior.
Can’t watch right now? Well we also have the transcript too.
CLEARWATER, Florida – Just days after a 10 Connects investigation into deceptive sales practices by a national locksmith chain based in Tampa Bay, federal agents stormed the headquarters of “Dependable Locks,” seizing computers and documents and arresting one of its owners for alleged money laundering.
“This reaches throughout the United States,” said Doug Smith with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the agency to raid the office. “Clearwater…is where a lot of the employees were working, basically in a call center-type scenario.”
Despite hundreds of complaints to dozens of different state agencies, it took a collective effort from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Missouri Attorney General, and Clearwater Police to bring the company down because locksmiths are unregulated in 36 states, including Florida.
Investigators arrested one of the owners of “Dependable Locks,” Moshe Aharoni, charging him with federal mail fraud. An affidavit (read it in its entirety here) accuses Aharoni, 28, and fellow owner David Peer, 31, of laundering money from over a hundred locksmiths across the county through Postal Service money orders. A federal warrant is out for Peer’s arrest.
The affidavit also accuses the owners of instructing their more than 100 employees – many of whom were Israeli nationals in the U.S. without work visas – how to overcharge and deceive customers. The Better Business Bureau gave the company an “F” rating because of hundreds of complaints received over the past two years.
The bust was months in the making, and more arrests are expected. A St. Louis man – Eliyahu Barhanun, 29 – was arrested in a simultaneous sting in Missouri.
“More complaints will come in,” Smith continued, “and you’ve got to remember, these are allegations, so there’s more investigating to do.”
U.S. Postal Inspectors have established a hotline for those believing they victims of locksmiths’ deceptive sales practices. The phone will not be manned, but callers are encouraged to leave their contact information at 314-539-9441. The calls will trigger an investigative response. There is also a toll-free number – 877-876-2455 – but there are more steps to finding the right extension.
To protect yourself in the future, look around for a reputable locksmith now. It will help prevent you from being taken advantage of in case of emergency.
The Associated Locksmiths of America provides a list of member locksmiths at www.findalocksmith.com. Or, as one viewer commented on 10 Connects’ initial investigation, “I would check with www.angieslist.com the listings include reviews of actual customers not someone willing to pay a membership fee. Also check www.BBB.org.”
Let us know what you have to say about this company, and what you think will become of this for the locksmith industry.
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Its a shame that one company that uses “deceptive sales practices” taints the entire locksmith industry. Everyone is worried about becoming a victim of companies like this that they take it out on the good guys, the companies that are trying to earn an honest living but get the third degree about prices and arrival times that it makes the job stressful and unappealing to hard working Americans. This leaves a vacuum for the criminal element to fill. If people want quality service and good customer service, they need to be willing to pay American wages, support your local economy and your fellow man. Stop trying to get everything for bottom dollar. Recognize the value of quality craftsmanship and pay a respectable wage, not an outrageous amount, but respectable. Drawing that line can depend on the job requested, that is where it gets murky.