DENVER — A group of Colorado women thought they’d found a local Facebook Group with great deals, but they say the woman running it took their money and disappeared.
Now, they are banding together on a new Facebook group to try to get their money back or get justice.
To call Rebecca Miller a bargain shopper would be an understatement.
"Big time. I'm a stay at home mom. And you have to be [a bargain shopper] in today's times," said Miller.
So when a friend told the Weld County mother about a local Facebook group that offered unbelievable bargains, she joined.
"So for instance, the Converse shoes, they're normally like 70 bucks in the store and she's selling them for $20. So, of course I'm going to do this," said Miller.
She said a Weld County woman named Danyelle Foster ran the "Fosted Finds" Facebook group and acted as a middleman for overseas merchandise. Members would send her money and she would ship them the goods
"It was, like, almost too good to be true," said Miller. "Because it was."
Last year, some group members, including Amanda Metcalf, of Brighton, noticed they had not received items they had paid for.
"I asked her for a refund, and that's when I got blocked on Facebook," said Metcalf. "She took advantage of a lot of people. And that wasn't just our money. It was our feelings. Now, I don't trust any businesses on Facebook."
Posts and texts show that Foster claimed that she had COVID-19, had trouble with customs and was closing the business, claiming she was "barely getting by."
Meanwhile, group members say that her personal page included posts about her new car and photos of presents piled around the tree.
"So, many people were buying stuff as Christmas presents for their kids and their loved ones and then didn't get anything," said Miller. "Now they've spent their budget and what are they going to do? She took part of our money and we paid for her to live a luxurious life.:
Miller launched her own Facebook group and said 150 members claim that Foster took their money and ghosted them.
"I feel taken advantage of," said Cinthya Behanna, a Brighton resident, who said she lost approximately $60 to Foster. "It's just not fair that she took advantage of so many people and just didn't deliver what she promised she would deliver."
The group is now complaining to the FBI, the FTC and anyone who will listen.
Contact Denver7 tried to find Foster, but her number has changed, she did not respond to emails and she has apparently moved to Texas.
"I'm not going to let this go," said Miller, who said Foster owes her more than $200.
She is on a mission to warn others and make sure no one else is taken advantage of, even if she never sees her money again.
"Because a lot of people knew her on a personal level and trusted her," Miller said. "I worry she may be doing this out of Texas now. I think that I would like to make sure she never does this to anybody else. But in terms of getting the money back, it's gone."
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