2 Reports Of Bad Paychecks: Oswego Police Investigating

The Oswego Police Department is investigating a business for issuing fraudulent paychecks in late February, according to department press releases.

A 45-year-old Yorkville man and a 51-year-old Chicago man filed separate reports claiming that a business at 74 Stone Hill Drive issued them fraudulent paychecks.

A post from late February on the consumer site Ripoff Report claims that Urgent Courier in Oswego has consistently issued bad checks to their independent contractors, and the company owes one individual approximately $2,400.

"Basically, they have stolen my services. I did the work and they have not paid," the anonymous complaint said. The author of the post also said that he or she would be contacting the Oswego Police Department.

There appear to be multiple business in different suites at 74 Stone Hill Road. The Ripoff Report posting listed 74 Stone Hill Road, suite C as the address for Urgent Courier. One of the police reports listed "74 c STONEHILL" as the address of the business that allegedly issued the fraudulent paychecks.

According to their website, Urgent Courier provides couriers services in Illinois, Indiana,West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; New Buffalo, New York; and Tampa, Florida. They also say that they provide courier services for medical samples in the Chicago area.

Another anonymous post from late November on Ripoff Report claimed that Urgent Courier had issued one individual four bad paychecks, though he or she said that three had been reimbursed.

“I can tell you that they are not a member of the chamber of commerce,” Angie Hibben, President of Oswego Chamber of Commerce said in a phone conversation on Monday. Hibben said an individual had recently contacted her about not getting paid by a company. She advised the individual to stop working there and contact the police.

Hibben said she had not heard of the Urgent Courier managers and officers listed on the Ripoff Report posts or listed on the Illinois Secretary of State online business directory

"And I'm pretty good with names," Hibben said.

The status of Urgent Courier's business license was listed as "not good standing," according to the Illinois Secretary of State online business directory.

Illinois Secretary of State online business directory

Multiple former employees of Urgent Courier told Patch that Alfred Evans was the owner of the company.

Accountant Elizabeth Marquez was listed at the president of Urgent Courier, but she said that she was unaware of this. “I never consented to being the listed as president or officer of Urgent Courier,” Marquez said in a phone interview with Patch. While she was Alfred Evans' accountant for about three years, Marquez said she was not aware that she was listed as president until a former employee of Urgent Courier contacted her. Marquez said she stopped performing accounting services for Evans in around May 2016.

Patch's calls to Urgent Courier on Monday morning were not immediately returned. Any response from Urgent Courier will be published in this article or in another article.

Map showing the address of the business listed in the police reports, powered by Google.

Note: Information about Alfred Evans and Elizabeth Marquez was added to this article at 11:55 a.m. CST on 4/13/2017

Photo: "First Paycheck" by Andy Nguyen via Flickr (https://creativecommons.org/li...)