AUSTIN – The Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) secured a $10.76 million Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction against BINT Operations LLC (“Blessings in No Time”) and its owners, LaShonda and Marlon Moore of Frisco, Texas, for the perpetration of an illegal pyramid scheme.
By deceptively marketing itself as a faith-based wealth building organization, Blessings in No Time scammed consumers out of tens of millions of dollars. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Moores promised to “bless” participants with large sums of money in exchange for up-front monetary contributions. The scam falsely promised investment returns as high as 800 percent. The couple, who had appeared on a reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network, invoked the affiliation to enhance the appearance of credibility. The Moores scammed nearly 8,000 consumers in Texas and across the country.
In June 2021, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the initial lawsuit against BINT Operations LLC for promoting and operating the illegal scam. The $10.76 million judgment secured by the state of Texas is a critical step toward bringing the Moores to justice for taking advantage of unsuspecting victims, many of whom cited financial distress due to the economic upheaval associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.
As part of the $10,760,000 judgment secured by the OAG, and enforcement actions taken by the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Arkansas, Defendants will pay up to $2,500,000, and no less than $450,000, for a Texas-administered fund that will assist victims of the Moores’ “Blessings in No Time” pyramid scheme.
To review a copy of the Parties’ Joint Motion for Entry of Agreed Final Judgment with Permanent Injunction, click here.
In addition, the FTC and state of Arkansas have reached a settlement with BINT according to a press release from the Federal Trade Commission:
“The operators of a “blessing loom” investment program that targeted African Americans and people struggling financially during the Covid-19 pandemic are banned from the business of multi-level marketing as a result of enforcement actions taken by the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Arkansas alleging the operation of an illegal pyramid scheme.
In the joint complaint against Blessings In No Time (BINT), the FTC and the State of Arkansas alleged that Texas-based BINT Operations LLC and its two co-founders, LaShonda Moore and her husband Marlon Moore, operated a chain referral pyramid scheme that bilked tens of millions of dollars from thousands of consumers.
“The FTC’s settlement permanently ends an illegal pyramid scheme that targeted Black communities with false promises of no risk substantial income,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “While defendants guaranteed wealth, they delivered only losses for almost all participants. This settlement stops defendants from perpetuating such a scheme ever again.”
