MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Dozens of women claim they’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to a women’s empowerment group.
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More than 30 consumer complaints have been filed with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. In them, women say they were led to believe they were paying into promotions for everything from trips to gas gift cards, even reimbursements for utilities or tuition.
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Michelle Farris lives in Cincinnati now, but spent eight years in Dayton. Women she knew added her to the “Women Who Want It All” Facebook group.
Farris told News Center 7 that she bought several gift card promotions, but only received some of them.
“It was kind of one of those situations where certain things were given to you just to kind of keep you buying,” Farris said.
When she started requesting refunds for the things she didn’t get, she said she was told she’d eventually be taken care of.
“I have just email after email of her just spinning me,” Farris said. “’You’re on my list, you’re next in line, you’re going to get at the end of April,’ you know, and now here we are.”
>> RELATED: Members of ‘Women Who Want It All’ group speak out about financial loss
Farris is one of the more than 30 women who have filed consumer complaints. The I-Team’s consumer investigative reporter, Xavier Hershovitz, went through those complaints on Thursday.
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, many of the women say they paid for things they never received. One says they experienced “repeated delays, changing requirements, poor communication, and a lack of transparency.”
Another complaint says, based on the circumstances, they “may have been induced to make purchases through false or misleading promotions.”
“There’s lots of us out here, and we really did believe in her, and at this point we just want our money back,” Farris said.
Hershovitz added up the totals from the complaints. Collectively, the women say they are out more than $350,000. One woman says she lost more than $75,000.
“I’m not sure how much I’m going to have to eat, but for her to do this to women who trusted her, to me, is just unfortunate,” she added.
The I-Team tried calling “Women Who Want It All” on Wednesday, but kept getting a busy signal. Hershovitz even went to the Trotwood home listed as the business address, but the person who answered the door saw him and shit it.
The I-Team tried two more phone numbers on Thursday, but both were disconnected.
Many of these women are facing some serious financial pressure now, with one saying she’s looking at filing bankruptcy.
The I-Team has asked the Ohio Attorney General’s Office if they are investigating this group, but we have not received a response at the time of this report.
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