AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says more than 300 victims from 25 states gave irreplaceable mementos to a local woman, and never got them back.
A 32-year-old woman has been charged in Washington County, accused of scamming hundreds in her memento business.
Destiny Danyell Magoon was charged with twelve counts of felony theft by deception on April 30.
Magoon allegedly operated a telemarketing business that offered to create mementos for customers. Authorities say customers mailed “irreplaceable items of deceased loved ones.”
However, the sheriff’s office says the customers never received the product or the items returned.
Miranda Richard is from Gwinnett County and did business with Magoon.
“I placed my order and a couple of months after I placed my order is when all of this started happening,” said Richard.
Richard says she reached out to Magoon’s business, called Romeo and Juliette Keepsakes to get a necklace made with breast milk she used for her child. $400 later and Richard says she still doesn’t have the necklace.
Hannah Damer from Kentucky says she spent $645 with Magoon and never got the ring she ordered.
“That was the last bit of my milk I had left,” said Damer. “Breastfeeding one is hard enough. But when you’re doing two, I didn’t have enough milk to spare. So I didn’t really have any extra. And so it took me a lot to get that little bit extra just for it to go to waste, and I probably will never see it again.”
In 2022, the Better Business Bureau started receiving complaints about Romeo and Juliette Keepsakes, also known as the Stay at Home Mom (SAHM) Keepsake Oasis.
Within the last year, the Better Business Bureau has received 19 complaints. The Better Business Bureau says they’ve reached out to the business, but the business told them they will not work to resolve customer disputes through the Better Business Bureau process.
Donna Miller from Texas said: “It is so much bigger than just your small town in Georgia.”
Miller says she reached out to get a breastmilk bear for her son.
Miller found out she wasn’t alone in a Facebook group where hundreds are sharing stories just like hers.
Kyrssa Weiss said: “I sent about six tablespoons of his ashes to her. Overall, I spent about $700 with her.”
Weiss says she’s one of the lucky ones who received her order, but it was only in part.
“I reached out to her in early December. And she told me to let me know she wasn’t going to have it to me. I was going to be lucky if I had it by Christmas,” said Weiss.
Officials say these charges stem from “numerous complaints the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division received.” The sheriff’s office said District Attorney Tripp Fitzner reached out to them with several potential victims who sent in mementos and never got them back.
“I urge anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this scam to come forward and contact our sheriff’s office. We are committed to pursuing justice for all those affected by this deceitful scheme,” Sheriff Joel Cochran said in the news release.
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