Tuesday, July 21, 2020
The man who unveiled Care.com's faulty security protections said he easily created a babysitting profile for Harvey Weinstein -- and questions security checks by the tech company being pushed to Rhode Islanders by Governor Gina Raimondo.
When Raimondo began pushing Rhode Islanders to use Care.com, the company had already settled in Massachusetts with the Attorney General, and numerous articles had been written about questionable business practices by the company.
In 2018, then a student at Stanford University, Edwin Dorsey wrote a detailed expose on Care.com and the legal troubles the company faced across the country.
On Monday on GoLocal LIVE, Dorsey outlined his investigation and his easy ability to create babysitting profiles for everyone from Harvey Weinstein, the then-accused and now jailed rapist, to Daffy Duck and Donald Trump.
Dorsey’s work was followed by a series of investigative pieces by the Wall Street Journal in 2019. In one article in the WSJ series, one of a number of gruesome incidents were unveiled:
On a warm July morning last year, Amelia Wieand left her twin toddlers at an in-home day-care center outside Knoxville, Tenn. She had read about the facility on Care.com, the largest online marketplace for babysitters and other caregivers.
The listing said the center was state-licensed. It wasn’t, state records say. In fact, after receiving reports that the woman who ran it was watching up to 11 children, a state agency had obtained an injunction two months earlier barring her from operating an unlicensed facility.
None of that was available to Care.com members such as Ms. Wieand. At one point, the day-care center indicated to clients there was a problem with its license, but assured Ms. Weiand and other parents it was taking care of the matter.
Hours after being dropped off, the children, Elyssa and Elijah, a month away from their second birthdays, were pulled out of the babysitter’s pool. Both died.
Settlement with Multiple States, Raimondo Refuses to Comment
In the past week, it was announced that Care.com reached a $1 million settlement with California prosecutors. The company is owned by entertainment and tech conglomerate whose C-Suite and Board is a made up of many of Wall Street's and Hollywood's elite including Chairman of the Board Barry Diller and Board Members like Chelsea Clinton and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
In 2018, Care.com paid nearly $500,000 in a settlement with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office. “When families pay for a background check service, they should get what they paid for,” Attorney General Maura Healey said. “This settlement will provide restitution for families who were misled, and requires Care.com to ensure that parents know what they are getting when they purchase a background check.”
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In last week’s announcement, California prosecutors stated, “The DA staffs also investigated Care.com's representations regarding the scope of sex offender searches conducted on prospective caregivers as part of background check services offered to customers for a separate fee. In particular, the complaint alleged Care.com made false representations on its website that its background checks included a search of the National Sex Offender Registry, a database maintained by the FBI and accessible only by law enforcement, and that purchasers of Care.com's highest and most expensive level of background checks were receiving a more robust background check then lower-priced offerings.”
Raimondo’s office has repeatedly refused to respond to questions about Care.com and if the state will continue to “partner” with the company.
After GoLocal’s story last week about Care.com, GoLocal followed up and asked, “Care.com was forced to pay $1M in penalties due to misrepresenting background checks and improperly auto-enrolling users into payment schemes. Will the Governor continue to pitch Care.com to Rhode Islanders? Looking for a response tonight. Thanks.”
The Governor’s press secretary Audrey Lucas responded to questions for Raimondo by sending GoLocal a statement from Care.com -- no response from Raimondo.
Raimondo Closed RI Childcare Providers and Pushed Care.com - On Same Day
Raimondo daily pushed Care.com to Rhode Islanders and urged them to sign up. In her administration’s daily press materials Care.com was front a key message point. In more than a dozen press conferences and press briefing materials.
While closing Rhode Island childcare facilities, Raimondo was endlessly pushing Care.com and it’s “extensive background and safety checks”
“Effective tomorrow [March 28], the state is suspending all childcare licenses until April 4. Rhode Island has partnered with Care.com to increase childcare access to Rhode Islanders. In addition to providing 90 days of free, premium access to their website, Care.com has created portals specifically for frontline workers and caregivers in Rhode Island. Starting today, frontline workers looking for child care can visit https://ift.tt/39kjnNI find a local caregiver. Rhode Island residents interested in becoming caregivers can visit www.care.com/rigive to register. Potential caregivers are subject to Care.com’s extensive background and safety checks. While child care services are not typically free of charge, the Rhode Island portal gives residents the ability to waive their fees and volunteer as caregivers, providing additional support to frontline workers,” wrote the Governor's office.
Weinstein Approved
Dorsey said in developing his story there were a number of red flags. "So I applied to join care.com as Harvey Weinstein and they have you enter all this info. So, I made up the name. I used the email address "[email protected]," he said -- using an actual picture of Weinstein.
"I just like made up all this info about him, birthday, address, social security number -- and then at the end of the process, they're like okay we've received your application, we'll get back to you on whether you're approved. In the next week or so, I get back that I've been approved as Harvey Weinstein and that was a pretty big red flag they're not doing the vetting they claim to be doing," said Dorsey.
Dorsey said on GoLocal LIVE that the issues have been going on for years. "So it's not a hundred percent clear [what is Care.com's failure] but what it looks like from the settlement agreements with local attorney generals is that they'll promise to do background checks that are comprehensive but then they end up not doing either a full background check or any background check at all."
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