The FARMASi Fraudster

 

Recently, a community member reached out to me. They want to tell their story to help protect consumers from a similar fate:

 

A few months ago a Farmasi Beauty Influencer started talking to me on Facebook. I will call her “A.” A would bring up makeup and talk about how much she loved this or that. I would reply with “Oh yeah, I love my Better Than Sex mascara.” or “That’s cool. I like Tarte and I use it for this or that.” I always came back with non-MLM makeup. I was just trying to be nice. See, I don’t support MLM after I’d been in Younique many years ago.

She invited me to a group where I “won” a prize for knowing how long Disney World has been open. This is where things changed. My prize was a Farmasi calendar and a sample. (This is how A got my full name, address, and phone number.) When I tried it it was absolute garbage, as I expected.

A attempted to pitch me. I kept saying no to the opportunity and I told her that if I wanted something I’d just buy it, thinking that would be good enough. Later, A messaged me to check my email. When I did I found out she had signed me up as a Beauty Influencer! Something I made clear I never wanted. 

I told her I didn’t want it, but she kept saying “It will be good for you!” and “You can pay me back.” How?! I can hardly take care of myself as it is. My spouse is also very anti-MLM and didn’t want me to have anything to do with it. I felt the same way, but I didn’t know what to do. I gave in, and I ended up placing an order under my account to see if it was as good as I was promised. We all know it wasn’t, and I’m now left feeling stupid for it.

A then added me to Farmasi groups. In all of the, at least eight, groups I was added to I found they were solely to recruit. It was hard to find any product information. That’s what really made me realize “I was right.”

I feel like I had my identity stolen. I never consented to sign up as a Farmasi Beauty Influencer. A likely paid for it just so she could hit a rank or some sort of bonus. After placing my order, I refused the packages. I was only given a partial refund for what I had the Post Office refuse. When A found out she told me to “Call the Post Office and change it to get your packages!” and I said “Hell no!”

My dad was Post Master and has trained pretty much every other Post Master around me. His legacy lives on, and I refused to look like an ass calling and giving in to A’s demands. First, I didn’t want anything to do with Farmasi or any MLM. Second, I will already be losing $20 on shipping. I also had a $28.45 commission because of a friend who bought from me. She hated her products but didn’t want to send them back. My friend accepted her loss and she tried to get me to do the same.

A kept saying “I’m helping you.” She continued to message me with the same sentiment until I blocked her. After I blocked her, A messaged my best friend. She ignored the message. So, then A went and posted in my best friend’s group where she sells her handmade crafts. My friend then had to block A completely because she would not leave her alone. My friend wants absolutely nothing to do with Farmasi, nor does she want to be in the muffle of it. She should not have been contacted at all.

Even after being blocked, A has not left me alone. She continued the harassment by calling and texting me. She told me she could not help and then tried to guilt-trip me by saying she had borrowed the money from her brother. When I went off on her, she told me to “Get help,” which was a jab since she is well aware of my mental health struggles. She also tried to gaslight me by claiming I was the one harassing her!

A had previously told me “Corporate is amazing and is so so helpful,” which was just another lie. They are total assholes at corporate. I have been calling Farmasi daily to get my money back. They refuse and say they are keeping my money from that one order. I was also told I would have to get to $50 to be able to cash out my commission so they will not give it to me. I was hoping the commission I earned would cover the money I lost on shipping. I figured then it could all be over.

Farmasi Compliance has blamed me for this entire situation, not A. They will not terminate her account. They will not give me my money back. They clearly don’t care, but I am pretty sure they can’t do this. Every time I call I say “I didn’t sign up, so how am I supposed to know or be bound by your terms?” And I still have no idea how A was able to sign me up without my consent. I never wanted anything to do with this.

I know it isn’t a lot to most but to me, it is. See, I have a traumatic brain injury, and I live off my disability. That’s my food money for a week! I had to buy Ramen because it’s all I could afford. I still won’t have enough food until I get paid next month. I can’t believe this happened. I pray the FTC or BBB can help me but I’ve lost all hope.

A once told me she has sponsored over 100 people, but I saw nothing that reflects that. The numbers in her groups are consistent, but she has zero interaction. It makes me wonder, “If A is so comfortable with doing this to me, then are there others this is happening to as well?” I believe she has done this before and will do it again.

So, I am sharing this story because it is all I have. I’ve lost my money. I was taken advantage of, and no one cares. Not A, and not Farmasi. It should never have happened because I never asked for it.

I hope that by sharing my story, it could potentially stop this from happening to someone else. Please help me get this story out there so people know they have to be even more careful now. I will be praying something good comes from my experiences.

Thanks for reading this,

-Anonymous