Forensics Talk

Dell Faces Suit Over Consumer Complaints

Consumers Allege They Didn't Get the Tech Support They Paid For

ABCNews.com

Dell is the No. 2 computer seller in the United States, but now some say the technology giant is ripping off its customers.

New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed a lawsuit against Dell, accusing the company of deceptive, fraudulent and illegal business practices.

"You can have aggressive marketing, and if you go too far it's consumer fraud," Cuomo said Tuesday. "In our opinion they went too far, and this is consumer fraud. They offered a product, a service that they didn't deliver."

Part of the suit claims that though Dell gave the impression of an "award-winning service" available to consumers "24 hours a day, seven days a week," consumers faced "nightmarish obstacles" to get help and technical service for their computers. Cuomo said New York had received 700 complaints about Dell -- more than the number of complaints for any other related subject.

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Point of View

  I'm one of the many who have complained about Dell's customer service. When I ordered my new computer, a couple years ago, the one that arrived was non functioning right from the start. Trying to get assistance, then get it replaced in a reasonable time frame, was a nightmare!

Rocky Mount chiropractor helped stage accidents, treated patients

The Associated Press                                             
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A chiropractor who encouraged people to stage car crashes and then seek fake treatment from him has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

For about three years, Mark McKinnon cheated insurance companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through his practice, the Accident and Injury Center of Rocky Mount, court records said.

McKinnon pleaded guilty to health care fraud in January. U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan last week sentenced him to seven years in prison, court records and attorneys involved in the case said. He is expected to repay insurance companies $350,000.

McKinnon paid patients and his employees to stage accidents, court papers said...

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Faking Cancer for Donations and Sympathy

Best Friends Betrayed After Helping a 'Terminally Ill' Friend

By Rob Stafford

Correspondent                               

NBC News

When tragedy strikes, whether it's across the country, or across the street, Americans often want to help.  Most don't expect to be repaid. But two women did not expect what would happen. They opened their hearts and their wallets to someone in need. A woman they knew so well they practically considered her family.  She told them she was battling a deadly disease, and they believed her. You may not believe what was really going on. This report airs Dateline Friday, July 21.

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Congress Hears 9/11 Hitches With Federal Disaster Aid

NYT
By AL BAKER

Published: July 13, 2006

WASHINGTON, July 12 — The stories of waste, fraud and mismanagement that occasioned the doling out of billions of dollars in federal disaster assistance after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are well documented.

There was the news that many New Yorkers who were reimbursed roughly $1,200 each for air-conditioners damaged by dust and debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center most likely never owned any air-conditioner to begin with, or occupied buildings with central air. There were reports of the Federal Emergency Management Agency paying at least $75,000 to a photographer for aerial photos and videos of ground zero without securing ownership of the images, which he then sold to others. And there were revelations about federal agencies being out of sync in a time of unprecedented need..."

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FBI Launches Hurricane Fraud Tip Line

                                             

From FBI News Release                                       
Sep 21 2005

    Aimed at Reporting Public Corruption, Fraud:
The FBI has launched a tip line, 1-800-CALL FBI or 1-800-225-5324 , to collect information and complaints of public corruption and government fraud, in connection with the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. Information related to these matters can be provided toll-free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

http://crime.about.com/od/scams/a/fraud_tipline.htm