Victim Location 08088
Type of a scam Other
As a US Patent Owner, I was contacted by this company by phone requesting to set up a business meeting to discuss "licensing my patent". No secure / encrypted website, no confirmed address, not registered in the state of Illinois or with the BBB. No association with the products they report to have manufactured. Listed in a vague review search as a "total scam associated with manufacturers from China".
Victim Location 72753
Type of a scam Other
My elderly mother was contacted by phone from 630-332-9920 by someone claiming to be Megan Waters about a possible licensing agreement with "Universal Manufacturing Corporation" for my deceased father’s patent. She asked if we would like to set up a 30-minute phone appointment to discuss the details with their "Licensing Dept" at 630-281-4153. She offered the website address of www.universalmanufacturingcorp.com and told me there were 3 offices: Illinois, Miami, and New York. I agreed to a phone conversation 2 days later and was contacted from a Miami, FL number 786-897-4524 by someone who claimed to be "Jeff Andrews." He said that the patent was part of a 4-week review process and he could let me know in a week if they were interested in a licensing agreement. I asked some questions, he said they manufacture all sorts of products, many are actually manufactured in China but the company based out of Illinois takes care of everything from manufacturing to sales. He couldn’t offer any specific information and seemed odd that I could hear kids in the background if he was at the office. After that call I checked online at the website which seemed a little unlikely with not much substance and a model like super young CEO, so I contacted the ScamPulse.com of Illinois and the company is not even listed with the secretary of state as a legitimate business and also found mention of it in some patent scam forums online, some under this name, others under other company names. So one week later "Jeff" calls back and I asked him what are some products they manufacture. He vaguely said they have hundreds of products on the shelf at *** and *** but when pressed to say a specific product, he said that he couldn’t discuss that because we would be competitors. (Actually, we wouldn’t be..this wouldn’t be sold at a *** or ***) It was obvious that he didn’t want to discuss any specifics about their company. He said that our patent had made it through the review process and congratulated me. Then he asked for either $7000 r $4000 depending on the royalties percentage. I asked him if he could send me the specifics of the offer in the mail so I could go over it all with my mother and he said no, that he couldn’t mail it. I asked him what his supervisor’s name was and he told me that HE was the supervisor. He then said some strange story about how the office was closing and if I could text him my email address he could email me the offer. Before he had to go because "they were shutting down the office" I let him know what a sorry SOB he is to be taking advantage of old people. I hope someone catches these folks and criminal charges are pressed.