Scam Artist Alert for RT Facilities

The ATRAnet Listserv published a post today from Allyson Dedic, CTRS. I thought I should pass it along on the RT Blog as it warns of possible scam artists. It follows:

I wanted to send this email out as an alert for those of you who have entertainers at your facility in FL. There is an entertainer who is an Elvis impersonator who goes by: Fred Denmark, Fred Alberts, and now Johnny Ray. I have heard rumor that he was a “scam artist” and preyed on vulnerable people. After research, I did find that he has a criminal record in Tampa, FL and the charges were related to grand theft and organized fraud. There are many accusations that are floating around on ripoffreport.com but I am only sticking with the facts that I know are verifiable.

I send this out because after we no longer allowed him to return, he used a ‘manager’ and a different name to try and return to our building. I am attempting to contact them now to let them know that we are not permitted to allow someone with that background to interact and engage in activity with our residents.

In these difficult economic times, I am finding more and more people desperate for work and will do whatever takes (even if that means being dishonest) to ‘make a buck’. My advice: if it doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t and take the time for extra precautionary measures to protect our clientele.
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Allyson Dedic, CTRS
Director of Therapeutic Recreation
Whitehall Boca Raton
7300 Del Prado Circle South
Boca Raton, FL 33433
(561) 237-3818 direct
(561) 392-6031 fax