Fitness center unable to pay local workers because of Fair Finance Billing Company

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Dozens of employees in Montgomery and Prattville will head into this week unable to get to the pay checks that they've earned during the past month because the federal government raided a finance company that manages those checks.About 45 employees who work for three Future Lady Fitness centers have not been paid in a month because the company cannot get the money from its billing firm.

Frank Allen, president of the company that operates the workout centers in Montgomery, Prattville and Jackson, Miss., said he hopes to pay employees soon.But Allen says that like his employees, he is a victim of the situation.Problems started late last month when the FBI raided the Akron, Ohio, offices of Fair Finance, the company that Future Lady contracts with to handle its billing and collections, including direct withdrawal from members who choose to pay that way.
Officials in Indiana and Ohio suspected Fair Finance was part of a pyramid scheme. During the raid, the FBI seized the company's business equipment and all its funds. That meant the company could not forward payments to its clients, including Future Lady Fitness.
Allen said it has been difficult to get information from the FBI and impossible to get it from Fair Finance.When the Montgomery Advertiser tried to call Fair Finance on Wednesday, the phone also rang unanswered.

"I haven't had anybody to talk to," he said.

Allen relies largely on published reports in Ohio media outlets that indicate the company could try to reopen by the end of the year."We are hoping they will open back up, get their computers back and we will get our money," Allen said.If that happens, he plans to take his business to another billing firm, but he knows there are plenty of pressing problems.

Workers missed paychecks on Dec. 7 and Dec. 21, and Allen said he also is behind on rent and utility bills.So far, most of the workers have stayed and the building landlords where his businesses are located have given him extra time to pay.Although Allen said it has been hard to get answers about what is going on, he does know one thing -- he intends to keep the businesses open.

"I am very confident things will work out," he said. "We are trying to do what is right."He said the company is not a new business and that he has grown it responsibly. The Prattville location has been open eight years. He opened in Jackson five years ago and in Montgomery three years ago.