ATLANTA — Calle Johnson owns Certified to be Natural, a salon in metro Atlanta that's focused on healthy hair.
Her idea was to expand her hair services and offer hair products with her own beauty supply store. She started this journey 10 years ago.
"I invested a large sum of money to take a physical class in Atlanta in Buckhead, and I went through the program and got a certificate of completion," Johnson explained.
That class was through Beauty Supply Institute or BSI. To actually open her store, she knew she'd need more money. BSI said it could help with that, too.
Except it didn't.
"Never got the funding, never," she said.
Johnson said she was repeatedly assured there wouldn't be a problem with the funding when she started the process, spending thousands to purchase a marketing plan and training package.
11Alive Investigates spoke with nearly two dozen other people in similar situations, with more individuals coming forward each week since our story first aired in April.
One entrepreneur emailed 11Alive saying, "We are in hopes that you getting this story out will help us and several other victims of this company to recovery financially and mentally."
Web extra | Watch 11Alive Investigates' group interview below
11Alive also heard from three former employees. While only one agreed to go on camera, all shared similar experiences.
"Broke my heart when I saw the news interview," Kino Smith said.
Smith says during his brief employment with the company, he saw a pattern of mismanagement and misleading promises.
"There was a constant badgering to get the money initially and constant lack of concern in her responses once they had the clients, you know, money," Smith said. "They were already on the hook and in debt."
Smith is referring to his conversation with another BSI employee who was helping to onboard him at the company. Smith says he was hired to work at one of BSI's sister companies to find lenders for people like Johnson.
Smith says he was employed by the company for about 10 days when it was determined he was not a good fit.
BSI says Smith “struggled with comprehending the overarching requirements of his job.” Smith says he understood them – he just didn’t agree.
He left frustrated that a company claiming to help Black people improve their economic status and grow generational wealth was destroying their financial futures instead.
BSI's response
The way BSI works is that clients pay for the program in full and then BSI starts setting up their stores. A portion of the money is held in an account to pay for the products that will fill the store shelves. But there's no guarantee on how long BSI will take to purchase those products or get the store established. For some of these clients, after giving BSI $50,000 or more, that wait has lasted more than a year.
That's the contractual ambiguity that has put many of them in financial hardship, as they continue to pay rent on a store that has no products to sell.
BSI says it's opened 227 stores in the past 20 years, but now it is the one that's the victim of fraud from its clients and employees.
"We are doing our best as a small business amidst a harsh economic climate, which is causing individuals to make false claims and commit fraud for survival. We would appreciate some degree of benefit of the doubt," it said in a written statement.
RELATED: Metro Atlanta company promising to help people open beauty supply shops leaves some bankrupt instead
In response to additional questions 11Alive Investigates had about BSI's operation, the company sent a written statement explaining that the consulting company has several services from project management to online learning and that only one aspect - store setup - is involved in these complaints.
BSI also said the CEO, Devin Robinson, experienced a significant medical condition and death in the family, forcing him to step away from the company for several months, just as it was experiencing rapid growth.
It also faulted clients who went around their contracts to purchase their own products after BSI failed to open their stores in a timely fashion, even though clients did so to avoid financial ruin and had to essentially pay for products twice to do so.
In BSI's written statement it says of the clients that appeared in our first story, "Two were opened years ago with no issue. One was financed directly by us as a favor to her, she only made 2 payments then defaulted. She continued to demand that we still open her store."
It also said it was working with its attorney to rectify the situation for those impacted.
While BSI says it has provided refunds and delivered shipments since our initial story, it’s unclear to whom. Clients continue to copy 11Alive investigates on distressed emails to the company begging for help.
Searching for a resolution
Most of the clients 11Alive Investigates met just want their money back. For months, they shared emails telling them their beauty supply products were on backorder even though receipts show payments going to Derobis Enterprises, Devin Robinson’s own beauty supply company.
The company says it's just one of several vendors it uses. Regardless, clients say it took the money for products, but the products never came.
One client has now been told that the delays are due to the negative media publicity, as the company audits its process.
Johnson gave up on getting her loan through BSI years ago.
"Destroying dreams," she said when asked to describe how she feels about the company now. "Robbing people of hope. Depriving people of being able to provide for their families and stealing from his own communities for his own personal gain."
For now, Johnson’s beauty supply store exists online and at trade shows. She’s determined to one day have a brick-and-mortar location.
"That is my dream. Was and still is my dream," she said. "My heart goes out to everybody who was lost because of BSI."