Workers say Memphis-based SSK Logistics never paid them for work-from-home jobs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Another Memphis-based shipping company promised workers thousands of dollars a month to work from home, and workers say they were not paid after completing the work.

For months, the Impact Team has tracked employers using Memphis as a home base to attract job seekers across the country.

Job offer from SSK Logistics

Mike Acosta, who lives in San Antonio, found a full-time job working from home after a layoff. SSK Logistics, based in Memphis, promised to pay him to repackage and ship high-end items, such as Tiffany earrings, delivered to his door.

“I was going to put money away for Christmas and all that other stuff. Basically just save it all,” Acosta said.

Acosta said packages were mailed to him, or he picked them up at a store.

“Package would be mailed to me or I’d go to the store and pick up a package. Basically just print out another shipping label and send it on its way,” Acosta said.

Acosta said the company told him what he would be paid.

“They said it was like $4,100 for the month and $700 in bonuses,” Acosta said.

Gordon Plugh, who lives in Wayland, New York, received the same offer.

“I’m a homeowner. I have a mortgage. I have other bills, and right now the way things are with the cost of things, I needed a job that paid pretty good,” Plugh said.

Plugh said the company asked him for identification.

“They said ‘oh, sounds like you’ll be a good fit for our company. Now just fill out this stuff. Send us your driver’s license picture and IDs and a selfie of you holding your driver’s license,’ and I’m like, ‘whoa wait a minute here,’” Plugh said.

Plugh did not take the job. Acosta signed all the forms and went to work.

No paycheck

For a month, Acosta reshipped packages across the country. When it was time to get paid, he said, he did not receive his money.

“Last week supposedly I was supposed to get paid out, never did. Then, yesterday they deleted my account where I couldn’t login and they just blocked me,” Acosta said.

Neither Acosta nor Plugh applied for work at SSK Logistics. Both said they were solicited after looking for other work on job posting sites.

Indeed told the Impact Team the off-platform offers are “in no way affiliated with Indeed, and we strongly condemn bad actors who exploit the trust job seekers place in our platform and brand.”

Efforts to reach the company

The Impact Team’s Jerry Askin tried to reach SSK Logistics. An automated system answered when he called. A person who called back said the number was not affiliated with SSK Logistics. The company did not respond to emails.

According to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office, the for-profit corporation registered with the state in August and has an active status.

There is no SSK Logistics at the company’s address on record. A different business operates at the address on Air Trans Road and has no affiliation with SSK Logistics. Workers there told the Impact Team they had never heard of the company.

The business at the address said its real estate agency notified them on Oct. 9 that SSK Logistics was using the Air Trans Road location as its business address. The business said it has since looked into the matter and taken steps to have SSK Logistics correct its address information.

BBB complaints

Daniel Irwin, with the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South, said the BBB has received more than 50 inquiries or complaints about SSK Logistics in the past two months. People questioned whether the business is legitimate and said they were never paid for their work.

“This fits the pattern of something that we’ve seen before,” Irwin said.

Similar case in July

In July, the Impact Team reported on another company that claimed to be based in Memphis, Postland LLC. More than 100 people in 34 states claimed Postland hired them to repackage and ship items and did not pay them for the work.

The Impact Team went to the company’s listed address on Player’s Club Parkway. There was no sign of Postland LLC inside or outside the building. The BBB could not find the company either.

Askin asked Irwin why this is happening so often in Memphis.

“I think Memphis is being used because it’s known as a logistics hub. We have FedEx here. We have a lot of trucking companies here, a lot of warehouses here. And again, nationwide, Memphis is a logistics hub, and it makes sense that these types of companies would be based or at least have a Memphis presence,” Irwin said.

Acosta’s family

Acosta had hoped the job would pay off. He has two children, and Christmas is coming.

“My son’s 11. He’s autistic and my daughter is 10,” Acosta said.

“It was real important. Whatever they wanted, I was going to have the money to buy for them,” Acosta said. “I’ve got 2 months. I’ll figure it out. Even if I’ve got to get rid of my personal stuff. I’ll do that just to have them happy,” Acosta said.

“It pisses me off. It pissed me off when it happened,” Acosta said.

How to report

The Impact Team will keep pressing for answers about SSK Logistics. Anyone affected can report it to the Better Business Bureau or the Federal Trade Commission.

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