Couple scams thousands in Black community during pandemic

The couple grew to fame after appearing on "Family or Fiance," a reality show on OWN

Legal action is being taken against a Texas couple who allegedly scammed Black people out of huge sums of money.

Marlon Moore and his wife LaShonda of Prosper, Texas are being accused of running an illegal pyramid scheme. On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the couple, per NBCDFW.

The couple grew to fame after appearing on Family or Fiance, a reality show on OWN which “follows the dynamic between eight engaged couples who bring their disapproving families together for three days under one roof, some for the first time,” per show’s website.

via Youtube/OWN

The couple ran BINT Operations, LLC also known as “Blessings In No Time.” They recruited people in the Black community to participate and according to the lawsuit, ran an “illegal pyramid scheme … to scam tens of millions of dollars from members of the African American community throughout the nation.”

Rosetta Fleming a retired teacher in Mississippi was a victim in the scheme.

“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,” said Fleming.

According to another lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission and the Arkansas Attorney General, those who participated were organized into playing boards.

Fleming said the more people that joined the faster one would climb and be closer to being “blessed.” She even recruited her husband who was never paid or advanced.

The wife and grandmother paid the initial $1,400 dollars down in hopes of being compensated $11,000.

The couple promised to also “bless and assist needy members of the African American community in the wake of the pandemic and economic and social strife.”

Fleming said she felt confident about doing business with the couple because “they promised that they would give you a refund if you were not satisfied.”

According to the lawsuit: “Defendants promised profits and a money back guarantee. Instead, Defendants are dissipating assets — leaving thousands of victims in dire straits.”

They put in $7,000 before requesting a refund. They never received it.

Back in December the couple discussed giving out refunds via a Zoom call and said they even received death threats.

Marlon and LaShonda Moore Image: Courtesy of BINTscam.com

“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, ‘Lets go ahead and shut it down’,” said Marlon Moore.

Per the Texas AG’s lawsuit, “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.”

Fleming is furious. She and her husband cleaned out their savings account for the scam. But she still does not want to see the couple in jail.

“I was so mad at them that they did all of this and they got this and they took our money.”

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