I got scammed by a fixed price writing assignment
Warning from moderator: I know this a sensitive topic, but this thread has gotten out of control. I do not want to be forced to lock it. But I will have no choice if policy-violating posts continue. Read my full post below. -Jacqui
Has anyone been scammed by writing articles and never got paid for it? I have. Please share your experiences. Here is mine:
Kevin Flynn
Hi Lovely, Jamila,
I've never used this forum before and I hope I'm writing in the right place where my comments will be visible! I didn't write as many articles as you Jamila, but I have only been paid about half the amount owed me for 5 '1500 word' articles, 10 '500 word' articles and 2 '1000 word' articles (I never could figure out what their stupid rates were anyway, Premier, Senior, Junior bla bla). In addition, I took time off other projects and assignmens to write these articles - and that cost me money too.
I feel especially bad because I thought I'd give Kevin the benefit of the doubt. He sent an email suggesting we end Odesk assignments to get good feedback. I figured I might as well get the feedback this time (last time I worked with Mr. Flynn I did get paid - but no feedback). So I ended the assignment and said goodbye to my money (there is no Paypal in Egypt and I knew I was forfeiting payment) - but I thought AT LEAST he could have left some feedback. Wrong again! This person is either completely incompetent or really unscrupulous.
I have never worked on an hourly basis on Odesk and have never encountered a problem with any fixed payment assignments except this one. To top it all, I gave Kevin Flynn excellent feedback, expecting him to do the same.How I wish I could take it back!
Sawsan
Google meets Flynn
Kevin Flynn is a SCAMMER and people who still work for him are either stupid or forgot what conscience means.
I bet you can still provide one more free article for him. We'll put it in a blog so that when you Google "Kevin Flynn" or "Cherie Manzano" you'll be directed to tons of articles about fraud.
Lovely
Scammed and hating it,....
I've been working for only less than a month with Kevin Flynn and I've got paid twice (a $10 and a $25). However, he hasn't paid me for the last 2 payrolls, with a total of $115. I am a work at home mom and I am planning to use the money for our bills and buy my baby some stuffs.
It's just so sad that there are people like Mr. Flynn and it's a shame that Cherie Manzano is also a Filipina like me. These two scheming thieves should just vanish.
I know I can't get my money now. And I don't care anymore, I can get more than that. I just want justice...
Kevin Flynn
Hi Guys,
I can't believe how many people have been affected by this man. I was lucky enough to wise up fast and stop working for him before he could screw me over. He assigned me work for this week, but am I able to contact him? No. So why would I complete work for a man that hasn't even explained to me why he ended my position on odesk. If he thought he was going to get me to work outside of Odesk he's amusing. When buyers request that I know somethings up. Nice try though.
I feel bad for all those workers that truly rely on the money they earn every single day. Yes, the money was helpful, but wasn't truly worth every hour I worked. When you have over 20 articles a week to write about the same topic things get boring and yes... in the first week I was bored.
Then when I found out Lovely was fired I was not pleased. This girl was so very helpful through everything and seemed to always be working.
I am shocked when I hear about shady employers, but when I encounter one myself I am not pleased. People like Kevin Flynn really do not deserve the opportunity to work through Odesk. Seems his main goal is to advance his paycheck and no one elses, get everyone else to do the work while he sits in his nice comfy leather chair with an extra large mocha from starbucks, what a hard life? Try being the people on the other side of the spectrum Kevin, where they solely rely on the money you promised them to feed their family for a week or get medication for a very sick child. Never thought of that now did you. Time to get your head out of your *** and stop worrying about yourself and undermining everyone, its going to get you no where in life except having many people adding you to their *hit lists*. Pay your employees before they come to you to get their money. Remember, not everyone is over seas!
K.F.
Ok. I wanted to be sort of clinical about my explanation for this experience but reading what you all wrote above just brought out the hurt. So here is what I sent out to one of the clients of Mr. Flynn after asking if he could refrain from using any of my work that hadn't been paid for:
"It is unfortunate that this had to happen. I am a full-time software design supervisor who loves to write. I was very excited to get the oppurtunity. For the past two weeks I've had 2-4 hours of sleep because I was writing. My hair started falling off and I didn't really care - that much. When Mr. Flynn needed a hand writing the 1500 WD articles I pitched in and gave a hand, even if I was on vacation and it was my son's 8th birthday. I slept at 3 am and woke up at 6 am and kept writing till 10 am just to finish it in '24 hours'. The quota was for 25 articles a week and I couldn't keep up, so I payed, out of my own pocket, for 7 articles written by people I know who can write. My dad, a PhD literature professor from Indiana State University, even pitched in to help a couple of times. I did all this because I didn't want Mr. Flynn's business to flaunder on my account.
It's not really about the money. It's about exploitation. And he did exploit us, our energies, our dreams. Our excitement. Our precious, precious time which we will not be able to take back again. I have a feeling he will do it again to another group of people, I learned this was his third oDesk buyer account.
Another thing that hurt, his accomplice, Ms. Cherie Manzano, was a Filipina like myself. I felt like a negro being sold to the white man by another negro, to be blunt. But it is out of my hands, and I leave it up to God or kharma now.
I have learned my lesson about fixed rate jobs and will be more wary of them from now on. I won't let this incident make me lose hope in all humanity though, there are many kind people out there. He's just one of the unfortunate few.
I hope our articles serve your business well, that they do their job and bring more people to the sites they are promoting.
There is no need to write back and thank you for listening and responding. It helps to know there is an ear out there. I am closing the chapter on this one and moving on, there are better things to do than dwell on other peoples misdeeds."
I REALLY don't want this to happen to ANYONE again, especially people I know who rely on work here. Carolyn, we met again after 20 years. We used to write in our highschool paper together, I was a year ahead of you and it was amazing to meet you again, and through oDesk and this unfortunate job experience. I am happy to know you have never given up the passion for writing. Mr. Flynn has to understand it is not only about the money that drives people to commit their time and effort.
By the way peeps, I think we should stop mentioning the word "Kevin Flynn" here. We are just driving traffic to his website -- he will gain even more from our misery.
Do you think this could be an SEO strategy?
Organized Attack
Hello Odesk,
My name is Kevin Flynn and I am the supposed ogre that has been under attack from Jamila Hoyas, Lovely Aquino, Christine Culley and Merlina Palencia.
These four writers were provided employment by me and attempted to sell articles belonging to my company to another buyer. This action was detected and they were terminated because of it. I don't owe any of them any money because their articles were not used for publication or sale to anyone. They were, in fact, some of the worst examples of writing I have ever seen.
Since their termination, the four of them have mounted a concentrated, organized attack on my company. They have emailed writers and clients with slanderous statements and they have personally attacked my editor, Cherie Manzano, who is by far the most professional employee I have ever had.
Today, Jamila Hoyas actually hacked our main Basecamp site and attempted to steal more articles from us, jeopardizing the work of legitimate wirters who work for a living. This action, when added to the other actions of these four individuals, elevates the entire event to a terrorist act under international law.
I have spoken with the Department of Homeland Security in the United States and authorities in the Philippines and Canada and they assure me that these individuals will be prosecuted and convicted. The evidence is overwhelming. There are also others involved but I will not publish their names as they have chosen not to come forward on this site. They know who they are and I can assure you that they will be prosecuted also.
Many of you have worked for me in the past and many of you are working for me now. You all know that I reward a good job with a fair wage and regular raises and bonuses. It is unfortunate that any of you should be subjected to this unprofessional and criminal behavior. Hopefully it will not discourage you from pursuing your respective careers as writers.
Thank you,
Kevin Flynn
Hi Kevin
Glad you're back in the scene!
You're really good in telling lies and in making threats -- although the last one, for Jamila's father is SERIOUS and I do believe you are capable of doing that. Are you still hooked? I suppose.
Believe me Kevin, you look funny to me more than ever!
By the way, would you mind paying Swati? Yep, the Indian woman you owed $1300. She paid her writers out of her own pocket because she cannot do what you did to everyone else.
Wow.
And the plot thickens..
I didn't know that you'll be branded as a terrorist when you hack a website 
Why did you involve Department of Homeland Security in this? Are they planning to attack the US? Are your accusers planning to hack US websites? LOL.
I have my own doubts on my fellow kabayans when they posted their complaints against you but I am now inclined to believe them since you took so long to reply to this thread and your answer to their accusations is simply...
RIDICULOUS.
Where's your evidence btw? Please provide us any evidence of "alleged hacking and terrorist" activities of my fellow Filipinos. Jamila has a lot of evidence against you but I don't see where yours are coming from.
You forgot to paste this EMAIL
You forgot to paste this email you sent me scam artist.
*removed by admin (but a copy has been sent to the customer service manager Ron)
Posting email content from private parties is a violation of oDesk Forum Usage Policy.
Evidence
Since we're airing everything out here, I'm going to publish all communications on this for all of Odesk to see. My Basecamp site was hacked about twelve hours ago by someone who created the email address futurmar@yahoo.com. My email is futuremar@yahoo.com. Discovering this, I sent an email to that address to instigate a response. The first response was, of course, sent without a signiture, so I decided to provoke a reaction. The following is the conversation I had with Jamila Hoyas, the criminal who initiated this action. Notice the initial communication at the bottom and the email addresses that were used for this. Not only did she falsify my email, she actually used my name on the account:
I'm blocking you from my email. Your ranting and raving is making me sick. And its funny you're making accusations of me and the girls selling our articles to other people - you gave us an idea! Care to recommend a buyer? My advice to you: Like your Mommy and Daddy said, Kevin, get a real job.
Now change your ways Mr. Flynn, stop frauding people. You might have stopped (or maybe not) taking drugs, but you still really haven't changed the inner you, have you. I'm sick of people like you. Stop your threats before you get run over by a truck.
*removed by admin (but a copy has been sent to the customer service manager Ron)
Posting email content from private parties is a violation of oDesk Forum Usage Policy.
Screenshots pls.
Screenshots of the actual emails are better evidence than cut and paste since they can be forged very easily. How can I be sure that you are not making up all of the emails and hacks of your website? In addition, please include the email headers to ensure that the futurmar@yahoo.com owner is from the Philippines.
Btw, I checked your assignments through one of your "bad" providers. Most of the assignments have no feedbacks at all. Only a handful left feedbacks for you, that shows quite a lot about you. You said that the 4 providers are the worst that you ever had? How come you gave two 5.0 feedbacks to Lovely then?
If I am a buyer, I am not dumb enough to give 5.0 feedbacks to someone whose writing sucks and allowed her to work for me for more than 250 hours.
Anyway, both sides should discuss this with oDesk. I just want to see the developments here.
Attempted selling articles?
You know what Mr. Flynn? I am ready to let go of this issue because I know I can never get paid anymore and I don't care about the money now...But you are saying that I, along with the others, attempted selling your company's articles to another buyer? Excuse me but out of the 30 articles that I wrote for you, you own only 7 of them since you only paid for 7 articles. And even with this fact, I never ever attempted selling articles. I have conscience unlike you.
And please, before you talk about professionalism, go use the money you are supposed to pay us to learn how to be professional yourself.
Use Google
Jamila- You still own those articles, and will until he pays you the agreed price.
If you can trace the articles by searching for a reasonably unique phrase, you can have the website remove them to someone else. Or you can sell them to someone else.
I'm waiting for a buyer (not from oDesk) to publish some work I have not been paid for, and I'll land on him and his Google AdSense account with a DMCA notice. He'll pay me or lose his websiteand his ad revenue.
All, Thank you for reporting
on Thu, 2008-10-09 21:17.All,
Thank you for reporting this buyer.
oDesk is currently reviewing the account and will take the necessary action.
Please continue to flag users that act inappropriately and we will do our best to remove bad apples from the network.
Thanks,
Ron
oDesk
DJ Almeda, Christine Velasco and Lavanya R
Hi people above,
It's really hilarious - you three are still working for Flynn and Manzano? You seem able to live decently without this writing stint.
Correct me if I am wrong, but are you guys part of the scam?
Oh of course, money worked by fifty people divided into five would be huge!
Hear no evil..see no evil..just wait until karma unfolds.
And don't ask where I got this info --- you are a $$$$$$ bunch working for some $$$$$$ couple who are very far behind.
One question - If the devil's good to you, would you work for him?
THREATS FROM THE KEVIN FLYNN
Hi people,
I just received this email from the SOB. And I quote:
"Thanks for posting the fact that your Dad works in the United States. Make sure you tell him you love him when you go to sleep tonight.
This is a dangerous country, you know"
Is this man high or what? He EMAILED me THIS?
This buyer is using physical intimidation
Dear oDesk,
This buyer is using physical and psychological intimidation to keep people from telling the truth about him. He scares people by threatening to sue them, to harm their loved ones, to use his 'connections and resources' to silence evidence of his fraudulent activities. At first, it was our ratings. He suggested that we end our assignments ourselves for favorable ratings. Does this MAN deserve to be on this network? He not only uses people and swindles people but he also threatens them.
Jamila
Threats, Threats and More Threats
Kevin,
You are not just a swindler. You are crazy.
That's what happens to people who only have dogs for companions.
Tsk.
Thank you for the information, will take your advice!
Hello sqoble!
Thank you for giving us that information. I will use the articles, don't know if I will sell it, but I might use it in some 'fraudster' blog site somewhere. But it certainly helps to know I still own my work, I still have the right to sell the work, or publish the work anytime I wish 
!
Jam
and this one's for cherie
cherie manzano - professional? you call her that, kevin?
she's caught on YM saying that the wd writers have no brains.
i guess she has too much brains for herself but lost something called conscience.
Kevin Flynn, Swati Banerjee and 350 water damage articles
To all concerned and more importantly, TO ANY BUYERS THAT KEVIN FLYNN MAY HAVE SOLD MY WORK TO, please take note that Kevin Flynn is in possession of 350 stolen articles. I own full copyrights to those. I am publishing all 350 articles on my website www.writing-ink.com. Anybody who buys these articles from anybody (who knows what Kevin Flynn's real name is, or if he even remembers it himself) please know that you have purchased copyright-infringing content.
A post here on this page, apparently from Kevin Flynn, says "And did you say Swati? From India? Is that who you and Lovely sold my articles to. Maybe I should include her in this investigation. "
Doesn't that kind of insinuate that Kevin Flynn knows no Swati from India? Correct me if I am wrong, of course. But then Swati from India has correspondence from Kevin Flynn. And a certain online marketplace will show an open project between Kevin Flynn and Swati from India that never got closed because payment was never completed.
But all that's beside the point, and I'm not about to get ulcers agonizing over being cheated of my hard-earned money. I firmly believe everyone gets it back. Kevin Flynn will definitely get paid. Yes, in his own coin.
The point I want to make here is - I am publishing all 350 articles on my website, and it's me, Swati Banerjee, who owns full copyright to those.
Warning: I know this a
on Fri, 2008-10-10 13:50.Warning: I know this a sensitive topic, but this thread has gotten out of control. I do not want to be forced to lock it. But I will have no choice if policy-violating posts continue.
This a community meant for civil discussion. Disagreement is fine, debate is encouraged, but hostility and threats are not acceptable. I have already been forced to remove copies of emails. I do not want to have to remove more posts. A number of posts contain language that on the line, and even crossing it. But I leave those be as long as I do not see the behavior continue.
The Community Forums Usage Policy:
To keep our forum useful and enjoyable for everyone, we ask that all our members follow the principles of our oDesk Community Values.
The following are violations that may result in immediate post removal, warning, board sanction and/or suspension from the site:
- Posting advertisements for any products or services.
- Including another individual's contact information and/or email address in a post.
- Including your own contact information and/or email address for the purpose of soliciting job offers or bids.
- Including profanity, vulgarity, hate speech, disruptive, or hostile comments,
interpersonal disputes, or threats of violence in a post. - Including material (graphic or text) that is obscene, pornographic or adult in nature.
- Using JavaScript or active code, making repetitive posts, or otherwise taking actions that interfere with site operations.
- Attempting to impersonate oDesk staff or other oDesk members.
- Encouraging others to violate oDesk policies.
- Posting email content from private parties.
- Posting material that in any way violates the oDesk Community Values.
- Discussing or reposting deleted posts or warning letters, or discussion of sanctioned or no longer registered members.
Jacqui Pittenger :: Forum Moderator
Need help? Visit the Help Center - http://www.odesk.com/help :: Are you oDesk Ready? Take the ORT today!
Amusing
I watched this thread with amusement. Mr. Flynn you can be a great standup comedian with the way you have replied to the allegations in this thread. Can't wait on your next reply. I will be monitoring this thread.
Paypal Pressure
Hello everyone. Please try to lodge a complaint against this person on Paypal. Cut him off at his source, so to speak. I lodged a complaint and still waiting for their advice. I sent a paypal payment request to this guy (because he said so in his email!) and he cancelled it without explanation! His paypal account is *removed by admin. If many of us complain about his refusal to pay for services/products rendered, there's hope that Paypal will freeze his account and he cannot use it. If we are even more determined and take legal mass action, we can maybe get paypal to disclose his personal info (credit cards, bank account, and identity). I am consulting a lawyer about this and reading up some precedent cases of online scam.
I took so long to act because I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Repeated silence met all my emails to him. I will be selling my articles and publish most of them myself (to my websites, blogsites, forums and other publishing sites). Since I did not get paid, I still have ownership of all those articles and anyone (his clients) who uses them will run into copyright problems with me.
You should do the same with your articles.
Writers unite!
Hi Christa
Hi Christa,
Although I can't help you with the PayPal move (as I used to work for Flynn on hourly -- and yes, he disputed it), I can surely help in providing more info for us to lodge a strong case against this thief.
Some writers have been paid and according to Flynn, people just "accuse" him of scamming and that he never received payment requests from them. I'm sure he'll tell you he "accidentally" deleted your request. Or worse, you also attempted selling his company's articles =))
He just cheated oDesk by paying thru PayPal. Swati is in a financial wreck because of 350 articles left unpaid. Writers are speaking out. It amuses me how some people who still work for Flynn think that this is just a personal conflict between me and this guy.
Lovely
Really? Truly?
Hey Lovely,
Are you serious? Does he still have people working for him?! Christa, I can't help with the Paypal thing either, but I wish you all the luck in the world. Is everyone sure we all own the articles he didn't pay for? What if he's already used them somewhere?
I think Odesk removed the great feedback I'd given Flynn. Can't see it on my profile anymore, thank God!
Sawsan
still working for flynn
Hi Sawsan,
Aside from the ever loyal Cherie (who'll marry Flynn one day actually - no kidding), I know of some people in our old team who still work for him and they BELIEVE all this stuff is a personal grudge that needs to be worked out between me and Flynn (you and Flynn; Christa and Flynn; Jamila and Flynn...haha!).
They will get screwed over big time and we don't need a crystal ball to predict that.
L
Same here
He had also cancelled my paypal request for $73. I was also hesitant at first to post all the articles I had written for him but now, I have already uploaded, thru my blog, three of those articles.
Document, document, and document
Hi everyone,
Right now, there might not be much we can do. He is halfway across the globe - precisely what he wants. He knows we're not going buy a ticket, board a plane, and confront him. But oneday he will make a mistake with just one person who lives near him, and people like this always do make a mistake because they are careless and can't help performing crimes again and again. So just make sure you document everything. Keep e-mail and correspondence, file it somewhere.
I'm sure the authorities will not let this continue and oDesk is doing their share to protect the oDesk community.
It's very alarming to know that there might be a job post or even several job posts by this person on here just waiting to fraud the next innocent victim. Be wary and alert and keep faith in truth and justice.
Please note that this is
on Sun, 2008-10-19 18:29.Please note that this is exactly why it is important to only accept payments through oDesk. We do offer guaranteed payment for verified work on hourly assignments. That is the best way to protect yourself.
Offering or accepting payment outside the system for an oDesk assignment (directly from the buyer through paypal, for example) is a violation of oDesk policy. oDesk cannot protect you if you engage in disintermediation.
Jacqui Pittenger :: Forum Moderator
Need help? Visit the Help Center - http://www.odesk.com/help :: Are you oDesk Ready? Take the ORT today!
My articles have been sold
I searched for one of the articles written by my father on mold remediation and guess what? The article that AWFUL, BAD MAN said he wasn't using cause they were 'one of the most awfully written' articles? ITS PUBLISHED. He didn't pay us AND he sold them off and made profit. Here is the link: link to my stolen article.
"In other words, places not ordinarily exposed to a
periodic good airing and strong sunlight, or places where there is
water damage"
is the phrase you can find on google.
They were sold to Purdys Water Restoration Experts by IDNMedia.
Jeezzz, talk about thick skinned.
Mine too
One of my articles has been published too. I have already sent an email asking them to have it removed. 
DMCA Takedown Time!
The supposed author has a bunch of water damage articles listed in their profile.
Learn the DMCA procedures and use them to get the articles taken down.
If the agreen-upon payment was not made, then the articles still belong to the author in a work-for-hire contract.
Will read on DMCA
sqoble
Thanks for the info. I am reading about the Digital Millenium Copyright Act right now.
Jam
we'll take this to a higher ground
Hi Jam,
I thought refunding 40 hours of honest work would enable him to pay the writers in our team. Apparently, this man is never satisfied. I discovered that this is his 3rd buyer account on oDesk. The last two he had to close because he didn't pay the writers he hired.
I emailed all his clients already and the writers in our team to warn about this man's modus operandi. This I've done despite a threat that he can track my IP for communication and sue me.
I also reported this to oDesk, and like you, I hope they will look into this matter too.
The worst part is that even a provider - like this Cherie M - helps this Flynn guy to milk more articles from writers when they do not intend to pay.
Philippine press would just love to publish this interesting story.
Lovely
do what you love. if you can't, just love what you do. http://abiaquino.wordpress.com/