Just read all the other reports of this guy and wanted to file my own report - can't believe he's STILL DOING THIS! Just happened to me yesterday, July 24, 2015. Was rushing to grab a sandwich at lunchtime around 52nd and 6th. Approached by a short older black man on the phone asking if I knew where the American Girl store is. I said I don't know but could look it up on my phone, he said not to worry he could look it up himself. He said I have a great voice and cut the conversation on his phone off saying he'd call whoever back, he found someone who sounds like a monkey. He said he's a casting director for Nickelodeon and I have the voice he's looking for and could be a fit for a few different shows. He was SUPER charming. He could see I was uneasy, and he immediately went into a story about how he wasn't hitting on me, he has a wife and kids.
He asked if I had time to sit and chat for a minute and kept saying how much he liked me, how cool I am. He pulled out his wallet and showed me his Viacom and Nickelodeon cards. He dialed the Viacom number in front of me and handed it to me so I could hear, took it back and "chatted" with someone asking what the current hourly rate was for voice overs. He said the hourly rate is $195, weekend work, only catch (of course) was a $380 fee for the press kit. He asked if I would be able to afford that. (He originally pegged me as 24 or 25 when I'm in my 30s - he was trying to flatter me of course but I don't think he realized I wouldn't balk at that amount of money.) I said yeah that's not a big deal and started asking questions about what I was actually paying for.
He was GOOD, very charming and kept giving me evasive responses, coupled with this idea that I can't mention to anyone that he met me on the street and everything was super secret. "What, because of equal opportunity laws?" He responded by saying that yes, it was unethical. I asked why I had to pay him today, and he flipped it right back on me and said if I didn't trust him, there was no need to do any of this, he just liked me a lot and even if I didn't want to do it, he could still get me tickets to Lion King. Any time I asked a question about what I was paying him for, he'd bring it back to whether I trusted him and what other proof I would need to believe him - whatever additional proof I wanted, he would be happy to give me. I had mentioned my boyfriend is a comedian and he called someone about his wife picking him up at LAX so I could "hear" his conversation.
He started asking me if my boyfriend was union, had done Caroline's, etc. setting me up to think he was talking to someone who could also do my boyfriend favors. He ended by telling me I was taking a risk and did I want to take it? I decided, oh what the hell, he was incredibly charming and funny, and I thought it'd be super fun to be a voice in a show if anything was actually legit. We walked to an ATM and I took out the entire 380 in cash. I folded up the wad of 20s and when I handed it to him, he didn't even count it, just stuck it in his wallet. I didn't have a card or anything so he had me write my name on someone else's card. He had a stack of other people's cards as well as a couple 50s in his wallet. (In the moment I just thought that helped his credibility!)
There was barely any room to write my name and phone number under someone else's name and number, he just asked if I had gmail or yahoo and not to worry about my email, he'd find me. I thought that was weird if he needed my email to follow up, so I ended up finding a receipt to write my email. He told me I'd get the press packet in a week. As soon as he had the cash he wasn't too eager for any of my follow up questions, said he was running late and had to get back to NBC, people were looking for him. He asked what direction I was headed, said I was heading to Subway for a sandwich. I must've made him feel bad what an easy mark I was, he actually asked me if I needed any money for lunch. I said no, and he ended with how awesome and fun I am and how I was taking a risk but I wouldn't regret it, and of course I got a goodbye hug and "I'll be in touch" before he quickly took off in the opposite direction of the NBC studios.
I was standing on 83rd and 3rd outside the Coffee Bean on the phone with a friend when "Lori' approached me and asked if I've ever done any voice work to TV. I was still on the phone when he proceeded to tell me he was legit and worked for Nickelodeon and showed me a withered card from the company. I told my friend I'd call her back and allowed him to talk to me for about 5 minutes. He was kind and complimentary and seemed legitimately interested in me and my voice. He could tell I was skeptical and either really did or pretended to call Viacom, and put me on the phone so I could hear the voicemail. Then he either made or pretended to make a phone call to a colleague, told her my name and that I sounded like a monkey (I couldnt tell if I should be insulted or not) and that I'd be great for Looney Toons or something, which I'm not even sure is still on the air.
He asked if I had voice tapes premade, to which I was like..why would I have voice tapes if I've never done voice work? He asked me about my job (I'm a student) and said he asked because I seem broke (again, to be offended or not?). He said, "well do you have an ATM card?" and I was like...yeah.....but I think I ignored that question at first. He was very much in a rush and speaking very fast and kept saying he had a meeting to be at, and on his phone call asked whoever it was if they could have his wife pick him up at LAX. You'd thing that a casting agent would be dressed nicely, however He was wearing bleach stained light wash jeans, a cap, and a raggedy sweater. He kept saying 'when they hire you, don't tell them we met on the street, tell them you auditioned because i'm not supposed to do this'. So towards the end of the conversation he asked "so are you interested or not? dont worry if you're not, we can still be friends. i like you, I'll get you tickets to the book or mormon or the lion king, those are our shows'. And I asked if i could think about it and he said "think about it quick, i need ot know now'. So then I pretty much gave up on this guy when he asked again 'You said you have an ATM card? How much money can you put towards this right now? I'll front you the majority what if you just give me $80?" and I said to him, 'sir, you j ust approached me on the street out of nowhere and you expect me to go to an ATM and give you $80 cash? That's sketchy". And he tried to make me feel guilty about it! He was like 'I'm offended you said that, I'm not sketchy". I think at that point the conversation was over. He went to his 'meeting' or to try and scam the next person, and I continued about my day.
I thought it was the weirdest and most New York thing to ever happen to me. Once I learned that he was an accomplished scammer I felt a little better about myself that I was able to avoid falling into the trap. I do understand how it would be so easy to fall for it though. He was so charming!
Viacom Reviews
Just read all the other reports of this guy and wanted to file my own report - can't believe he's STILL DOING THIS! Just happened to me yesterday, July 24, 2015. Was rushing to grab a sandwich at lunchtime around 52nd and 6th. Approached by a short older black man on the phone asking if I knew where the American Girl store is. I said I don't know but could look it up on my phone, he said not to worry he could look it up himself. He said I have a great voice and cut the conversation on his phone off saying he'd call whoever back, he found someone who sounds like a monkey. He said he's a casting director for Nickelodeon and I have the voice he's looking for and could be a fit for a few different shows. He was SUPER charming. He could see I was uneasy, and he immediately went into a story about how he wasn't hitting on me, he has a wife and kids.
He asked if I had time to sit and chat for a minute and kept saying how much he liked me, how cool I am. He pulled out his wallet and showed me his Viacom and Nickelodeon cards. He dialed the Viacom number in front of me and handed it to me so I could hear, took it back and "chatted" with someone asking what the current hourly rate was for voice overs. He said the hourly rate is $195, weekend work, only catch (of course) was a $380 fee for the press kit. He asked if I would be able to afford that. (He originally pegged me as 24 or 25 when I'm in my 30s - he was trying to flatter me of course but I don't think he realized I wouldn't balk at that amount of money.) I said yeah that's not a big deal and started asking questions about what I was actually paying for.
He was GOOD, very charming and kept giving me evasive responses, coupled with this idea that I can't mention to anyone that he met me on the street and everything was super secret. "What, because of equal opportunity laws?" He responded by saying that yes, it was unethical. I asked why I had to pay him today, and he flipped it right back on me and said if I didn't trust him, there was no need to do any of this, he just liked me a lot and even if I didn't want to do it, he could still get me tickets to Lion King. Any time I asked a question about what I was paying him for, he'd bring it back to whether I trusted him and what other proof I would need to believe him - whatever additional proof I wanted, he would be happy to give me. I had mentioned my boyfriend is a comedian and he called someone about his wife picking him up at LAX so I could "hear" his conversation.
He started asking me if my boyfriend was union, had done Caroline's, etc. setting me up to think he was talking to someone who could also do my boyfriend favors. He ended by telling me I was taking a risk and did I want to take it? I decided, oh what the hell, he was incredibly charming and funny, and I thought it'd be super fun to be a voice in a show if anything was actually legit. We walked to an ATM and I took out the entire 380 in cash. I folded up the wad of 20s and when I handed it to him, he didn't even count it, just stuck it in his wallet. I didn't have a card or anything so he had me write my name on someone else's card. He had a stack of other people's cards as well as a couple 50s in his wallet. (In the moment I just thought that helped his credibility!)
There was barely any room to write my name and phone number under someone else's name and number, he just asked if I had gmail or yahoo and not to worry about my email, he'd find me. I thought that was weird if he needed my email to follow up, so I ended up finding a receipt to write my email. He told me I'd get the press packet in a week. As soon as he had the cash he wasn't too eager for any of my follow up questions, said he was running late and had to get back to NBC, people were looking for him. He asked what direction I was headed, said I was heading to Subway for a sandwich. I must've made him feel bad what an easy mark I was, he actually asked me if I needed any money for lunch. I said no, and he ended with how awesome and fun I am and how I was taking a risk but I wouldn't regret it, and of course I got a goodbye hug and "I'll be in touch" before he quickly took off in the opposite direction of the NBC studios.
I was standing on 83rd and 3rd outside the Coffee Bean on the phone with a friend when "Lori' approached me and asked if I've ever done any voice work to TV. I was still on the phone when he proceeded to tell me he was legit and worked for Nickelodeon and showed me a withered card from the company. I told my friend I'd call her back and allowed him to talk to me for about 5 minutes. He was kind and complimentary and seemed legitimately interested in me and my voice. He could tell I was skeptical and either really did or pretended to call Viacom, and put me on the phone so I could hear the voicemail. Then he either made or pretended to make a phone call to a colleague, told her my name and that I sounded like a monkey (I couldnt tell if I should be insulted or not) and that I'd be great for Looney Toons or something, which I'm not even sure is still on the air.
He asked if I had voice tapes premade, to which I was like..why would I have voice tapes if I've never done voice work? He asked me about my job (I'm a student) and said he asked because I seem broke (again, to be offended or not?). He said, "well do you have an ATM card?" and I was like...yeah.....but I think I ignored that question at first. He was very much in a rush and speaking very fast and kept saying he had a meeting to be at, and on his phone call asked whoever it was if they could have his wife pick him up at LAX. You'd thing that a casting agent would be dressed nicely, however He was wearing bleach stained light wash jeans, a cap, and a raggedy sweater. He kept saying 'when they hire you, don't tell them we met on the street, tell them you auditioned because i'm not supposed to do this'. So towards the end of the conversation he asked "so are you interested or not? dont worry if you're not, we can still be friends. i like you, I'll get you tickets to the book or mormon or the lion king, those are our shows'. And I asked if i could think about it and he said "think about it quick, i need ot know now'. So then I pretty much gave up on this guy when he asked again 'You said you have an ATM card? How much money can you put towards this right now? I'll front you the majority what if you just give me $80?" and I said to him, 'sir, you j ust approached me on the street out of nowhere and you expect me to go to an ATM and give you $80 cash? That's sketchy". And he tried to make me feel guilty about it! He was like 'I'm offended you said that, I'm not sketchy". I think at that point the conversation was over. He went to his 'meeting' or to try and scam the next person, and I continued about my day.
I thought it was the weirdest and most New York thing to ever happen to me. Once I learned that he was an accomplished scammer I felt a little better about myself that I was able to avoid falling into the trap. I do understand how it would be so easy to fall for it though. He was so charming!