ACTION 9: Customers Didn't Get Promised Debt Counseling

Several people have filed lawsuits against a Charlotte company, alleging they never received services they paid for.

Tracy McLelland has massive credit card bills and student loans totaling $40,000. But she thought she'd found the answer in a Charlotte company named Drexel Solutions and its owner Anthony Barkley.

'He got us going with the gospel, saying ‘Amen and is your father rich? You should be rich too,’” McLelland said.

She said Barkley called himself a pastor and promised she would get debt counseling and investment advice. But first, she said, Barkely required an upfront fee of $500.

Anthony Simpson and Tarsha William said they also gave money to Barkley for debt counseling and financial advice, and got nothing.

Simpson lost $350 and William, who recently got laid off, lost $300.

"I'm upset about it. I mean you know times are tough, we were looking for ways to better ourselves to get financial education and he just took advantage of it,” Simpson said.

The clients say Barkley operated Drexel Solutions out of a building in east Charlotte, but suddenly shut down.

Eyewitness News went there to find out if anyone knew anything. A man there said they moved two months ago.

All of the people Eyewitness News spoke to, including three others, have filed complaints with the police fraud unit and the North Carolina Attorney General's Office.

Eyewitness News found three lawsuits filed against Barkley, two for money owed.

Bruce Hamlett runs the nonprofit debt counseling agency for United Family Services. He said with the downturn in the economy, he's seeing more people lose money in debt relief scams.

“It seems like when people are suffering is when you'll see these fly by night organizations spring up looking to capitalize on other persons misfortunes, we see it time and time again," Hamlett said.

As for McLelland, she now wants to prevent others from getting taken.

"We're not looking to get out money back, we're looking to stop him,” she said.