Tinker Boe, of Mood Food Catering, posted an ad on craigslist looking for people to hire for her catering company. I applied, and in my interview she used a fake name, Susan (i'm sorry i've forgotten the last name). She hired me, but insisted on ridiculous references, such as fingerprinting, passport and photo id copies, a professional 8x10 color photo that had to be done at kinkos, bank statements, social security card copy, as well as a regular application with tax information. It seemed crazy at the time, but I did it all, paying out of my own pocket, as she swore it was required in New York City (this was my first catering job in ny, as i'm originally from philly), and that she frequently did events at the UN and needed security clearance for her employees.
I worked one 14 hour shift at a private residence in West Chester, NY, where everything went great. I rode up to the event with another employee in the van carrying all the food. I found it kind of weird that it was almost everyone's first day of working there, but assumed it was a new company. Susan (really Tinker), knew all the restaurants in NY, seemed to have great food knowledge, and came off very sincere and likeable, despite her eccentricities. After the party, she personally gave me a ride back to the city in her luxury car (I forget what make/model), and talked the whole way about how great I did and all the plans she had for me. Then, she never paid me.
I wanted to work more jobs, but had a restricted schedule due to my other job. Enough time had passed before I called her for more work, that I should have been paid already. When I called she said my check was at the shop, to come and pick it up. I scheduled another catering job with her, and went to collect my check the next day. No one answered the door, which u had to be buzzed into, at her shop. I called and called and she didn't answer. I went down everyday for a week, with absolutely no response.
Needless to say, I blew off the next job. I must have called her hundreds of times, she owed me at least a hundred and fifty dollars. When I did catch her here and there she always said she had just mailed it. Then she said it got returned. She lied over and over, and I fought like crazy with her, but got no where. Eventually, I gave up.
When I saw a clip of her on Fox shame reports, I saw that she had done this to dozens of people, had used a fake name, and immediately became scared that she would try to steal my identity (due to all the information I had given her about myself). I paid extra fees on all my credit cards for identity watch, and felt lucky when nothing happened. I also realized that getting in a car for a 45 minute ride with a con artist could have ended much worse.
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