~ Employees were fired when they discovered the scam. ~
PHILIPSBURG: — Several students that have taken classes at Taxes R US on Cannigieter Street with its tutor Patricia Mason have discovered that they were each defrauded of large sums of money and that the courses and examination they wrote were not even registered with the ACCA and other learning institutions.
One student said she did a payroll course and was awarded a diploma only to find out the diploma she was given is not legitimate and that the US-based school is not even aware of the tutor’s existence. This student is working for the Department of Labor and Social Affairs.
Another student said only in March 2021 after writing examinations and while waiting for the results she contacted the ACCA and was told that they are not in possession of any examination that she reportedly took. In an email to the student, the ACCA said that while she was registered at ACCA London there are no records of her doing any examinations, most of all the ACCA does not know or have any affiliation with Taxes R US on St. Maarten or its tutor Patricia Mason.
According to the students, even an employee working for the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) had his employer paid for courses that cost way over $2,000.00 and the courses are not legitimate. Some employers went ahead and paid the full amount to Mason and just like many others did not do any type of research. The students said while they were a group of 8 students, they have since learned that there are several groups of students that attended classes at the institution and were all defrauded unknowing to them.
Employees fired and not paid.
To make matters worst the employer who also worked for the government of St. Maarten previously fired her employees and she allegedly did not pay the employees. The employer has since levied a number of accusations against the employees.
The employees said that when they were hired at different periods of time, the employer offered them a salary but not once they were paid the full amount. They said the employer enrolled them in several accounting courses without their knowledge and consent and deducted the cost of the courses from their salaries. They said they too were issued diplomas they now realized are not legitimate while the tutor is not affiliated with any of the overseas-based learning institutions.
Speaking to SMN News, the employees said that the businesswoman is not only robbing students that want to improve their education to secure better jobs locally but she is also submitting fictitious information to the government on behalf of her clients. There are people that are paying for bogus payslips and other documents to file for residency and working permits they alleged.
SMN News tried contacting Mason for a comment regarding the courses she is providing and the allegations made against her and Taxes R US but she could not be reached.
The employees and students said that they intend to visit the Prosecutor’s Office and the Detective Department where they will file official complaints against the tutor.
