MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Nearly a half dozen women told News Center 7’s I-Team that they are out tens of thousands of dollars after their involvement in a women’s empowerment group on Facebook.
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34 consumers have filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Office about “Women Who Want It All.”
Several women said they joined the Facebook group looking for community and are now living in a nightmare.
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“This young lady is really doing her thing; she’s making all of this money, and she’s going to pay it out to her community,” Lakeena Tennon, of Maryland, said.
Tennon joined the “Women Who Want It All” group and saw an opportunity to get ahead.
She said it was an online women’s empowerment community with many opportunities.
“In the beginning it was mostly about giveaways and traveling,” Tennon said.
From gift cards to trips, Tennon said members could pay into the group and reap the benefits.
“I just got into a trance, seeing all of these things that I can obtain to make my life better,” she said.
She got an iPad and decided to tell her sister to join.
“I’ve grew up in Dayton, so you see a lot of crime, you see a lot of evil, you see a lot of cruelty, but there is a lot of good too, a lot of great in Dayton, and so I wanted to be a part of the great,” Tennon said.
The Dayton natives said they knew several women in the group and even talked with an organizer over the phone and video chat.
The women said they would pay for packages and only get part of them.
Tennon’s sister, Lakisha, bought a MacBook that never came.
“Hey, we pushed back. You get it a week later. So I’m thinking, like, ‘Okay, it really mine is coming because you see people getting their stuff,’” Lakisha said.
Last week, the women in the group got an email from the organizer saying she knew many were frustrated, disappointed, and looking for answers.
It said they are doing a review of all accounts, obligations, and business records.
While that’s done, they are unable to provide timelines, guarantees, or resolutions until it’s complete.
“I’ve cried every day since the email of her sending us that she basically is running off with our money,” Lakisha said.
I-Team Consumer Investigator Xavier Hershovitz talked to several women over the phone with similar stories.
In total, five women said they lost over $139,000.
“My emotions and my finances are shattered,” Lakisha said.
Hershovitz tried calling the organization, but no one answered.
So, he went to the listed business address, which is a home in Trotwood. As he was walking up, the doorbell camera went off, and the dogs started barking.
Someone came to the door, saw him, and shut it.
Moments after our crews walked away, a car pulled into the driveway and took off. The other car already on the driveway did the same.
“I feel stupid, because I’m like, I should have saw, I should, I should have seen this,” Lakisha said.
These women are trying to pick up the pieces, working extra jobs, and even exploring bankruptcy.
Hershovitz requested those 34 consumer complaints from the attorney general’s office, but they haven’t gotten back to him.
We will continue to follow this story.
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