American Grant Center

I am a Vietnam War Combat Disabled Veteran and I receive a VA Pension monthly, and after living expenses I am close to broke. I am buying my home (1986 Manufactured), and I needed repairs/remodeling so I applied for a $5000.00 grant.

Today, 05/12/2011, I received a call from the US Government Grant Dept. saying that I was selected to receive the Grant. I was given info on myself, and asked to verify. I was asked how I wanted it sent so I gave my Bank Info for Direct Deposit. Then I was referred to the management department, and given a code no. After everything was confirmed, I was told I had to send $190.00 to process it which would be returned after Deposit. I think now that I got scammed. Or is this legitimate?

I received a call saying that I was going to receive a $7,000 grant for paying my taxes. Then, they proceeded to ask me for banking information and me not thinking of it being a scam and I needed the money for bills, I gave them all my information. I then called my bank's fraud department and they had told me that it was a scam. They said that they had to place a hold on my accounts and open new ones. I hope that nobody else goes through this because of this information that I'm providing. I had to reopen another account and resubmit all my information to get all my funds and direct deposits changed.

In much need of money due to overspending, I received a call. He stated in broken English that I qualify for a $5000 grant, and I do not have to pay back. Well, I believe in miracles, and thought great. Oh boy, how wrong I was! Anyway, to make a long story short, I did give him my bank account number and other relevant info. Now I have to go to the bank tomorrow and put a 'freeze' on my account for the rest of the month! I will probably have to get a new bank account (as I had previously fallen for a similar scam). But I warn you - do not give anyone your bank account info, your social security number, or other relevant personal data unless you know specifically with whom you are dealing with.

The Grant Center was supposed to send a CD with information on available grants and how to apply for grants. The cost for this CD (shipping and handling) was $2.95. Apparently there was a 7 day refusal of service after which your credit card account would be debited $49.50 per month for the "Grant Service". I did not specifically as for the service, just the CD and information. I noted the $49.50 charge on my credit card account, but missed the original charge on the previous month. I contacted the company and requested a refund - they refused.

This company called and offered a $5000.00 grant. They said the grant was approved and that they needed a $279.95 processing fee. They said that after the fee was paid that it would take 3-5 days to have the money deposited in our checking account. The next day they called back and said that paperwork would be coming in the mail for the processing within 10 days. That was about 2 weeks ago and the phone number they gave always says that circuits are busy try again later.

Received a call from the "American Grant Center" and spoke with a man with a strong Indian accent. His name was Ricky Morris.

He proceeded to tell me my family had been choosen with 9,000 other families throughout the United States for a $5,000 grant.

Ricky wanted my bank account information for verification, and once I was cleared money would be deposited into that same account.

I declined and asked him to send me information via U.S. mail.

He declined stating I would get a hardcopy of information via postal mail once they verified me. I was also to get a seven-digit number once verified.

I did get a phone number (877-277-6935) however I never called it.

Mr. Morris told me I could talk to the Verification Officer Martin Jordan. I declined and told him I needed to talk to my family before making any decisions.

Mr. Morris was very polite but very persistent in trying to get my bank account information.

I declined and told him I would call once I talked to my family.

I was on the phone with him for a little over 20 minutes going back and forth with him.

This was another red flag.

If you've ever called a U.S. government agency, they like to give you information quickly and don't want to spend a ton of time with you.

First of all it took over 2 months to receive the information ordered. When we did finally receive it only half the things ordered were provided. the phone number that was enclosed is not accessible from my calling area, so I called my father-in-law, who lives in Florida and the number is not accessible from that area either. I am not usually a complainer but we were counting on the other supplies to compensate for the time and money we spent trying to get this information.

I was contacted by American Grant Center by someone who said I was guaranteed to recieve a grant for no less than $5,000.00. He wanted my acount information and I wanted questions asked first. He pu his supervisor , Ivan Dee, on the phone who explained that they worked with American grants and they needed my account info so they could process the paper work for me.He stated that they were on record with the FTC, and that the call would be turned over to an officer for the frederal government to confirm the call.

When the call was forwarded to the so called officer, she stated that she did not work for the federal government. I called to cancel the transaction, as I would not have the funds to cover it, as I explained to the person who handled the call. She stated that she would take care of it immediately and took down my verification # and said that she would call me back. I never received a call back and I was unable to reach a live person when I called the number given to me. I got a bank statement showing where the money was taken from my account. I now owe my bank $285.00, as I have $300 in overdraft protection, which I do not have. I feel I have been taken, since I cannot reach anyone and I beleive I have learned my lesson and will not be so foolish in the future or trust anyone again. Now I have to figure out how to get my money back from these people.

Well I Applied For A Grant With Fafsa For College. I Got A Call At 10:20a.m. On Friday March 4th 2005. When He Told Me My Name My Address And My Telephone. I Thought It Was The Real Thing. He Told Me He Was A Federal Grant Officer. We Had A Conversation He Was Explaining Me About The Grant. Then He Told Me In Order For This To Happen We Need Your Bank Account And Bank Routing Number In Order To Deposit It. OK I Said Yes.Thinking It Was The Real Thing. Well At The End After He Got All My Information He Told Me There Was A Fee Of $249 Dollars Then He Straight Connected Me To A Verification Personal Then I Guess He Called A Center Named American Grant Center Then That Recorded Person Was Asking Me Of My Details. Ok After That They Just Hanged Up.

A man called with very broken English, repeated my current address to me and stated I was being rewarded for paying my taxes with "free money that you never have to pay back", but could not give any specific details. He was confused when I asked any questions. He also asked if I had a personal checking account. I was skeptical so I told him no. Then he asked if anyone else in the family/household had one and I was sarcastic with him, stating "I'm sure they do". He then asked bluntly, "Well can I have the number?" I said "no" and that I was hanging up and he proceeded to tell me he would call back later. I told him not to and hung up on him while he was still talking. He was beligerant and condescending. His ability to speak English would come and go.

I received a call on the evening of 2/4/2005. I had been at work all day and this was the 4th call of the day. A woman w/ an Indian accent told me I had been selected to receive a 5000 grant from the government. I knew right away it was a scam so I got her phone number and her supervisor's name. She told me she had to get some info from me, and I then asked her how much this would cost me and she said "I just need some info so you can receive your free money" I then asked her how she got my phone number and she said that information was not available to her.