The reality star couple Marlon Moore, a celebrity D.J. who goes by the name D.J. ASAP, and his wife LaShonda, are being accused of scamming millions of dollars from people through an illegal pyramid scheme. They are now being sued.
According to NBC Dallas, for more than a year, the couple has been operating a pyramid scheme targeting Black and Brown people in their hometown of Prosper, Texas.
The couple once featured on an OWN Network reality show called Family or Fiance, which focuses on couples getting engaged while their families disapprove, created a company called BINT Operations L.L.C. BINT stands for “Blessings In No Time.”
Now, the couple is being sued. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Moores, saying BINT is an “illegal pyramid scheme … [and the Moores had used it] to scam tens of millions of dollars from members of the African American community; throughout the nation.”
One of the people allegedly scammed by the husband and wife is Rosetta Fleming, a wife, grandmother, and retired teacher in Mississippi referred to the company by a relative after hearing the Moores’ promises.
“They promised that they would give you a refund if you were not satisfied,” Fleming said. “They wanted to say it’s for Blacks. They wanted to say it’s to build the Black community is what they wanted to say.”
The BINT network charges an initial fee of about $1,400, almost the exact amount issued on the first stimulus check. Every member that Fleming supposedly recruited, most of whom are members of the Black community, was supposed to get more than $11,000 in compensation.
“…I kept thinking to myself, ‘Oh, I need $11,400. I can get out of debt’,” Fleming said.
According to another lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the Arkansas Attorney General, members formed a board.
When Fleming and her husband spent about $7,000 and were never paid and never advanced, they requested a full refund, something BINT said it would honor. They are still waiting seven months later.
“I was so mad at them that they did all of this, and they got this, and they took our money,” Fleming said.
In the Zoom calls, Fleming says she frequently attended, members in December wanted their refunds.
“Guys, we are working all refunds, we had an active refund list, and before that refund list got too long, we wanted to go ahead and say, hey, ‘Let’s go ahead and shut it down,” Marlon said.
LaShonda said she and her husband have received death threats following being sued.
“Since January 2021, the State has received nearly 200 consumer complaints against Defendants alleging over $700,000 in losses of monies contributed to Defendants but never refunded,” According to the Texas AG’s lawsuit.
Another alleged victim wrote in the lawsuit, “The Moore’s SCAMMED, CONNED, HOODWINKED over 8,000 Black and Brown people during a pandemic.”
Hopefully, the couple learns from its scamming history.