[May 27, 2012] BBB Warns of Fraudulent Group 'Based' in Twin Falls Tweet TWIN FALLS, May 27, 2012 (The Times-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Better Business Bureau is attempting to close the website of a Twin Falls-based financial firm it alleges is bilking its clients. Dewitt Financial Group, which claims on its website to have office space at 2163 River Vista Place, is allegedly charging clients upfront fees for loans the clients never receive, according to a release from the Better Business Bureau. A Florida man who sent nearly $800 in upfront fees for a $10,000 loan alerted BBB investigators to the scheme, prompting a month-long investigation, according to a Friday press release. "It looked really official, and I talked with the people on the phone, and they sent me a really legal looking contract," Dewayne Carr of Deerfield Beach, Fla., is quoted as saying in the release. BBB investigators worked with the Idaho Department of Finance to investigate the company. Their findings include: -- A toll-free number associated with Dewitt is allegedly registered to a location in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. -- The company's TwinFalls address is an office complex near the Snake River Canyon rim. According to the BBB, examiners with the Department of Finance found no proof that the company actually has an office there. -- The company's website, www.dewittfg.com, is reportedly registered to a resident of Toronto, Ontario. Online records searched by the Times-News on Friday confirmed the BBB's assertion that the website was created on April 10 and is registered with GoDaddy.com. -- According to the BBB, a phone number associated with the registration is the personal cellphone of a woman in Atlanta, Ga. The woman told the BBB she had never been associated with Dewitt. -- When BBB staffers called Dewitt's toll-free number, they were directed to an automated voice-answering system, then presented with options that repeatedly led back to the original greeting, according to the press release. On three different calls, the phone allegedly disconnected after two attempts to access extensions. Dewitt Financial is not listed as a registered company in the state of Idaho, according to a Times-News search of records maintained by the Idaho Secretary of State's Office. The BBB recommends the public check out companies offering loans through its free database before providing any information to them. Visit bbb.org, enter your zip code and click the "Check out a Business or Charity" button to research a company for free. ___ (c)2012 The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho) Visit The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho) at magicvalley.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]