‘Grinch’ accused of stealing $500,000 in holiday scam involving PlayStations, Xboxes
A “grinch” is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from families in a holiday scam involving “hard-to-find” PlayStations, Xboxes and other high-end items, according to New York officials.
The New Jersey woman is accused of “ruining Christmas” last year for those families by not delivering the items after they were paid for, according to a news release from Attorney General Letitia James.
The woman, Tandria Faulkner, would accept orders from several customers who never received the consumer goods before the 2020 holidays while she was operating under two businesses and pocketing their cash, the Dec. 21 release said.
She is facing a lawsuit from James, who froze her and her businesses’ bank accounts through a temporary restraining order to stop her from taking more orders.
“Despite false promises of PlayStations, Xboxes, and other high-end items, Tandria Faulkner and her companies were not able to deliver and only stole Christmas from numerous families,” James said.
McClatchy News has reached out to Faulkner’s lawyer for comment and did not receive a response.
“The units were originally promised by Thanksgiving… then they were promised by Christmas and they never arrived,” one of Faulkner’s consumers described, according to the lawsuit. “To date I have not received any money back or products.”
Faulkner operates an online sales business under Sonjia Posh Boutique LLC and Prestigious Marketing Concepts, Inc., according to James.
She continues to list items for sale, most recently in December, according to the lawsuit that shows a $499 Nintendo Switch game console listing on the “Tandria F” Poshmark account with the username “@sonjiaposh.”
The account appears to be still active as of Dec. 22 with about 1,800 listed items for sale.
When Sony and Microsoft announced the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S video game consoles in fall 2020 ahead of the holidays, they were in high demand and difficult to find and buy.
Faulkner used salespeople and social media adds to tell customers in New York and elsewhere that “they had the ability to procure these scarce items” and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of orders while promising they’d arrive before the holidays, according to the lawsuit.
Faulkner’s customers were left “without these in-demand holiday gifts for their families,” the lawsuit stated.
“Many consumers never received a product at all,” according to the lawsuit, and multiple requests for the game consoles or refunds were allegedly not fulfilled.
Several of Faulkner’s “advertisements showed stacks of game consoles which gave the misleading impression they were in-stock and available,” the lawsuit detailed.
Some of Faulkner’s customers were friends and family of salespeople working for her, the lawsuit said, and those friends and family told their own friends about the sales and also placed orders.
More than $500,000 in orders for game consoles were accepted through Venmo, according to the lawsuit. The Venmo orders showed “delivery was expected by Christmas” as some included consumer notes such as “PS5 for kids Christmas” and “PlayStation 5 bundle (guaranteed before XMas).”
James’ lawsuit seeks restitution for those who didn’t get their promised items or a refund from Faulkner as well as a permanent ban “stopping Faulkner from accepting orders for items she is not in possession of.”
“New Yorkers should know that the only ones who can deliver impossible presents in an expedited fashion are Santa and his team of elves!” James said.
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