Overseas Unlimited Agency Inc

Just weeks after helping shut down an overseas job agency accused of cheating 70,000 customers, the state agency that polices the employment services industry is on the verge of being put out of business itself. Absent an unlikely rescue in the California Senate, the tiny Bureau of Personnel Services will shut its doors Nov. 1, the victim of a deregulation campaign gone further than its sponsors expected.

A federal judge Monday ordered Michael B. Marks, owner of an overseas employment agency accused of bilking 70,000 job seekers out of more than $25 million before it was shut down earlier this year, to complete a five-year prison term for a previous fraud conviction. "Greed got him here in the first place and greed is going to keep him here," said Chief Judge Manuel L. Real of the U.S.

The last of California's overseas employment agencies--an industry with a record of consumer fraud and persistent client dissatisfaction--has been put out of business, state officials said this week. "It is a good day," said Jean M. Orr, executive director of the state Bureau of Personnel Services, the regulatory agency that for several years has struggled to curb abuses in the industry.

An overseas employment agency accused of bilking 70,000 or more clients of at least $25 million gave up its fight Friday to resume operations, instead consenting to an indefinite shutdown in the face of government charges of fraud and misrepresentation. The Federal Trade Commission had accused the Los Angeles-based Overseas Unlimited Agency of falsely promising to obtain jobs abroad for customers who typically paid fees of $395 to $550.

The last of California's overseas employment agencies--an industry with a record of consumer fraud and persistent client dissatisfaction--has been put out of business, state officials said this week. "It is a good day," said Jean M. Orr, executive director of the state Bureau of Personnel Services, the regulatory agency that for several years has struggled to curb abuses in the industry.

A Los Angeles employment agency that promised to locate jobs in foreign countries has closed and filed for liquidation under U.S. bankruptcy law, prompting complaints from more than 100 customers and an investigation by the California attorney general's office.

A federal judge Monday ordered Michael B. Marks, owner of an overseas employment agency accused of bilking 70,000 job seekers out of more than $25 million before it was shut down earlier this year, to complete a five-year prison term for a previous fraud conviction. "Greed got him here in the first place and greed is going to keep him here," said Chief Judge Manuel L. Real of the U.S.

In an unprecedented step, the Federal Trade Commission will ask a federal judge Friday to permanently shut down a Los Angeles-based overseas employment agency on grounds that it bilked 70,000 or more clients out of at least $25 million. The firm, Overseas Unlimited Agency, and its owner, convicted swindler Michael B. Marks of Canyon Country, have been the subjects of state or federal investigation since a few months after Marks acquired the employment agency in mid-1984.

State legislators representing the San Gabriel Valley received more than $227,000 in gifts and speech fees last year--double the amount they collected two years ago--according to statements they have filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission. The leading recipients were Assembly Republican leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale), who reported $19,000 in speech income and more than $25,000 worth of gifts, and Sen.

A Los Angeles employment agency that promised to locate jobs in foreign countries has closed and filed for liquidation under U.S. bankruptcy law, prompting complaints from more than 100 customers and an investigation by the California attorney general's office.

Just weeks after helping shut down an overseas job agency accused of cheating 70,000 customers, the state agency that polices the employment services industry is on the verge of being put out of business itself. Absent an unlikely rescue in the California Senate, the tiny Bureau of Personnel Services will shut its doors Nov. 1, the victim of a deregulation campaign gone further than its sponsors expected.

An overseas employment agency accused of bilking 70,000 or more clients of at least $25 million gave up its fight Friday to resume operations, instead consenting to an indefinite shutdown in the face of government charges of fraud and misrepresentation. The Federal Trade Commission had accused the Los Angeles-based Overseas Unlimited Agency of falsely promising to obtain jobs abroad for customers who typically paid fees of $395 to $550.

In an unprecedented step, the Federal Trade Commission will ask a federal judge Friday to permanently shut down a Los Angeles-based overseas employment agency on grounds that it bilked 70,000 or more clients out of at least $25 million. The firm, Overseas Unlimited Agency, and its owner, convicted swindler Michael B. Marks of Canyon Country, have been the subjects of state or federal investigation since a few months after Marks acquired the employment agency in mid-1984.