A get-rich-quick scheme turns out to be a scam, and one South Bend resident avoids being taken for a ride. It's an old-fashioned scam that's hit nearly every state in the country - including Indiana.

Shawn Andrews once worked at a post office and now works at Indiana State Prison, so he's very familiar with scams.

But the deal that came in the mail from a company called Premier Solutions out of Van Buren, Arkansas still sounded good.

“I'm not gonna say I didn't think about it, but that price, $10.00 per envelope, that's kind of steep don't you think," Andrews said.

Little did he know the deal to make $5,000 a week stuffing envelopes was part of a scam that's been an ongoing headache 600 miles away.

“Premier Solutions is the most recent incarnation of a company that started out called Home Business Systems… in 2005, we filed a lawsuit....to enjoin that organization from taking part in these practices where they lied about how much money you could expect to earn,” said Jim DePriest with the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office.

But, despite the Arkansas Attorney General's lawsuit, the letters are still coming; and when Andrews called the number given on the letter he was greeted with:

"Hello, are you making this call because you would like the opportunity to make some money? If so, you've just come across an opportunity that could help you meet your needs…" said the woman’s voice on the recording for the envelope-stuffing scam.

The scammers still have everything up and running, and unfortunately, it huts people who need the money they lose.

"The victims tend to be elderly, because that's who stays at home. Or disabled in some fashion, and people who are looking to augment what might be a fixed income by working at home, so this a venerable part of the community," DePriest said.

Fortunately for Andrews, he wasn't duped, and he hopes others won't be either.

"Use your common sense, you know. There's a tendency for us to wish and hope and dream and do outrageous things, you know, but you have to be responsible," Andrews said.

Authorities say Premier Solutions admits no one participating gets any money.

In April, the business was fined $1.3 million for more than 12,000 counts of deceptive practices in Arkansas. That money hasn’t been paid.

So how can people avoid these schemes?

The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office says almost any type of get-rich-quick deal is a scam, especially those that require you to send money up front.

For the Better Business Bureau’s extensive report on this company, see the link below.