By Kathianne Boniello
A judge has ordered a Bayside company accused of duping consumers into paying for fake high school equivalency diplomas to refund thousands of dollars to its customers, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced last week.
In his Oct. 10 decision Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Leland DeGrasse called the actions of GE Career Center Inc. and its president, Mikhail Fisun, “a deliberate, well-organized and planned attempt to mislead the public.”
Fisun, of Brooklyn, who also goes by the name Mike Davis, could not be reached for comment as of press time Tuesday. No one answered the phone at GE Career Centers this week, and a Rego Park phone number listed under Fisun’s name was disconnected.
In May, Spitzer’s office filed a lawsuit against GE Career Centers, which had a mailbox at 45-40 Bell Blvd., accusing the company of using ads to lure customers into taking correspondence courses for general equivalency diplomas that the attorney general said were worthless. The mailbox appeared to be gone this week.
The company was also accused of accepting payments of between $100 and $150 from customers but not sending out materials for the courses they advertised.
It was unclear how much GE Career Center, which DeGrasse barred from offering or selling its GED preparation course, would have to repay customers, but in a news release Spitzer said the amount could total “tens of thousands of dollars plus civil penalties.”
“GE Career Center preyed upon the dreams of individuals seeking to improve their lives by advancing their education and turned them into a nightmare of dead ends,” Spitzer said in a statement.
DeGrasse set a hearing for Nov. 22 to decide how restitution will be distributed.
Nearly 40,000 people across the state obtained their high school equivalency diploma, or GED, last year, according to the state Education Department.
Only the state Education Department can administer the General Education Development test, which must be taken in person, and only the Education Department administers GED diplomas.
It appears the run-in with Spitzer was not the first time that GE Career Center had trouble. In his Oct. 10 decision, DeGrasse noted that the state Education Department notified GE Career Center of apparent violations in its business four times. There was also a 2001 report on customer complaints from the Better Business Bureau.
The Education Department licenses all GED courses, Spitzer said. Those wishing to check on a course or school’s license or to see whether it has gotten consumer complaints can call the GED Customer Services line at 518-474-5906. The information can also be obtained by writing to New York State High School Equivalency Programs and GED Testing Unit, P.O. Box 7348, Albany, NY 12224.
To file a complaint against GE Career Center, call the attorney general’s office at 800-771-7755 or go on-line to www.oag.state.ny.us.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
