GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Duluth police said a man claiming to help get student athletes college scholarships was full of broken promises.
"He basically said that he takes care of everything. You know, all we had to do is provide him the information," said Gwinnett County father Tony McCune.
McCune said he reached out to the Dacula man to help his daughter, a student athlete, get a college scholarship.
McCune said Adrian Davis claimed he had the skills and connections through his business Sports Solutions of America. On Davis' profile page on the social networking site LinkedIn, he advertises academic and career management services.
"We were going to exchange some website design work in exchange for him marketing my daughter to schools," McCune said.
He said Davis claimed major universities were interested in recruiting his daughter, but when she contacted the schools, "They didn't even know who she was," McCune said.
"It makes me angry that someone would actually represent themselves as having a legitimate business only to basically prey on the dreams of students," said a woman police identify as one of Davis' former employees.
She asked Channel 2 Action News only to use her first name, Crystal.
She said she began working as Davis' executive assistant in mid-June and witnessed questionable business practices firsthand. She said she saw red flags when parents would call her concerned that nothing was going on.
"They just had a lot of questions. They wanted to know what had been done," she said.
In addition, Crystal said she and her coworkers never saw a full paycheck.
"To this date, we've worked over 200 hours and not been paid," Crystal said.
She was among the first to report Davis to Duluth police two weeks ago. Investigators said since then, all 28 of his Georgia-based employees have quit and turned to police.
"We think we've hit the tip of the iceberg," said Duluth Police Major Don Woodruff.
Duluth police said their investigation is still ongoing, but they believe Davis charged clients from $300 to $3,000 up front for his services.
Police said they have found alleged victims across the Southeast.
"It is our understanding that there are some from Georgia, Florida, and as far away as Texas," Woodruff said.
Davis is being held at the Gwinnett County Jail on charges of theft by deception and theft of services. Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh requested an interview with him, but he declined.
WSBTV
