Eloy Martinez almost fell for it, but something in his gut told him to do some checking around before mailing off a check.
He’d received an email earlier in the day from a sales representative at Elite Sports Promotion offering to sell him a sponsorship for a sports team at East High School in Cheyenne.
It was a professional-looking flyer, Martinez said, and appeared legitimate.
As owner of the Cheyenne Cup coffee shop and eatery, Martinez said he’s always looking for ways to support his community, and what better way than to sponsor a local high school sports team?
Martinez agreed to buy a 3-inch-by-3-inch spot on a T-shirt for $300. In exchange, Elite Sports would send him a free T-shirt with an additional $10 shipping charge, which struck Martinez as odd.
The sales rep then asked for his credit card information, which Martinez refused to provide over the phone. He’d send a check, he told the rep, if Elite Sports provided him with an invoice and the company’s credentials.
Martinez got the invoice, along with a copy of the company’s taxpayer identification number and certification.
But Martinez’s gut told him something was off, which was validated when the rep called him back to see if he’d put the check in the mail.
No Contract With School
At that point, Martinez thought to check with East High School Principal Marc Kerschner, who told him that the school does not have an affiliation with Elite Sports, at which point Martinez reported the company to the Cheyenne Police Department.
Along with Martinez, Kerschner said he’s received questions from other parents who also questioned the legitimacy of the company’s offer.
“We’ve never placed that order or asked businesses to sponsor T-shirts or anything,” Kerschner said.
Along with fraudulent sales on T-shirts, Kerschner said other parents have been offered to buy space on banners to hang in the school gym.
At best, Kerschner said it’s aggressive marketing, and at worst a “flat-out scam.”
To his knowledge, no one has fallen for it yet.
Likewise, the Cheyenne Police Department have not received any reports other than from Martinez, according to Alexandra Farkas, public information officer for the department.
Contract With Cheer Coach
When questioned about the contract with East High School, the sales representative from Elite Sport Promotions who had contacted Martinez said the company has a legitimate contract with the school.
That’s Eric, who declined to provide his last name or location, who said that he had a signed contract from the cheer coach, Alyssa Jones.
Kerschner checked with Jones who said she had not signed a contract and had no working agreement with Elite Sports.
Eric was going to check with management to see if he could provide the contract to Cowboy State Daily; it wasn’t sent.
To Eric’s knowledge, this was the only such contact that he personally was working on in Wyoming.
Eric further told Cowboy State Daily that he’s only worked for the company for a month and has nothing to do with the contracts. To his knowledge, he said he’s selling legitimate advertising space.
“This is not a scam,” he said.
Multiple calls to the company’s number listed on the contract went straight to voicemail.
‘F’ Rating From BBB
Complaints about Elite Sports Promotions on the Better Business Bureau, however, suggest that it is a scam.
The company, which is not BBB accredited, has an “F” rating with the agency.
It’s not an accredited businesses, according to the BBB, with 38 total registered complaints in the past three years, 10 of those in the last year.
Many of the complaints refer to the company as “fraudsters” and a “scam.” They describe shirts and banners that never materialized and high schools that had no knowledge of contracts with Elite Sports.
The amounts lost ranged between $300 to upward of $10,000.
The majority of the complaints on file were not addressed by Elite Sports, though in some cases the company did respond to refute the accusations, in several instances claiming to have signed contracts with cheer coaches from various schools.
Not Just Wyoming
The potential scam has also been flagged in other states, most recently at a high school in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, which issued an alert to parents this week.
Last year, schools in Missouri, Florida, Georgia and others also flagged the company in warnings to area businesses and parents.
The company is in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State that certified Elite Sports Promotion’s refiling in March 2025.
For his part, Martinez is glad he listened to his gut instinct that something was wrong and that he did his homework and he warns others about the potential scam.
“I hope that the hot potato stops here,” he said. “Enough scamming good people with good intentions.”
Admittedly, he’s now questioning donations he’s given in the past and whether those were actually legitimate.
The Cheyenne Police Department advise that people be skeptical of unsolicited messages requesting payment and check with that school or entity directly.
CPD also warns about clicking on suspicious links in emails or texts, verifying through official channels and reporting suspicious activity or fraud to CPD dispatch center at 307-637-6525.
Fraudulent and other suspicious activities on behalf of companies can also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission and to the FBI’s internet crime reporting online tipline.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
