The LSM Fashion House / Lea Shonnel / Lea McDuffie
Complaint 12314 Details

Lea Shonnel, AKA Lea McDuffie, posted a Craigslist ad for part-time seamstress work for "her" fashion line The LSM Fashion House. I replied to her ad and we agreed to meet in person at her house. At this time she was using the email address [email protected].

I met with her at her home in Albuquerque prior to 11/10/2010 (I think 11/08/2010), and brought samples of my work. She wanted to hire me. She told me I would be on payroll. She showed me examples of her "designs" on her iPad and told me she was a graduate of Manzano High School, that she had gone to LA to go to the Art Institute for fashion design, and that she had returned to Albuquerque to start up her business. She asked me if I could draft patterns, as her seamstress in Washington was too expensive and she would rather work with someone here. We agreed on an hourly wage of $12 and that we would start with patterns from her seamstress but eventually I would make them myself. I thought her designs looked too bland to be indie fashion, but I went with it.

On the 10th, she sends me an e-mail to make a sheath dress that she needs sent in a hurry, and expects me to draft the pattern. The measurements are all wrong, and I ask about them. She insists that they are right and that she had the customer re-measure, and I agree to come pick up the fabric for the order on 11/12/2010, draft the pattern, and sew the dress.

When I picked up the fabric, I found she had only bought some elastic trim and some cheap woven satin. She had not bought any of the other items needed for the dress, like a zipper, interfacing, lining fabric, etc. I asked about it and she said the customer did not want a zipper and lining. I said the dress would not look right without them. I told her the satin she chose was a poor choice for this type of dress, but she brushed me off by saying that it was what the customer wanted.

Right there I should have known something was wrong. Any designer worth their salt would know all of the things I said were true and would have flat-out told their customer that it was impossible to make the dress without the zipper, lining, proper fabric, etc. Regardless, I took the fabric and made the dress on her deadline. I used some of my own materials to finish it and give it structure, since without the lining the dress looked like a plastic bag.

The morning of 11/17/2010 I dropped the dress off at her house. She had said in her email on 11/12/2010 that I would get my first paycheck on 11/26/2010. However, when I went to her house on the morning of the 17th, she said she would pay me for my time via Paypal that day and all other work I did would follow on the supposed paycheck on the 26th. I left.

Payment never came. I sent her several invoices and reminded her over the next few days. She stopped all contact with me and refused to pick up when I called her cell phone. I waited patiently until the 26th, and still no word. That's when I started to get suspicious. I looked up her 4 Etsy stores and saw negative feedback. All the designs looked similar. I Googled her store name and found her on The Etsy Callout Blog listed as a reseller, with a lot of negative complaints. I asked some friends on an Etsy team I am on, and one of them confirmed that her "designs" were just wholesale Chinese made clothing and not really hers. She showed me the website the clothing was sold through. All of the pictures on the Chinese wholesale website matched Lea's store pictures perfectly.

I reported all of her Etsy stores and after 30 days I reported her as a scam artist to Paypal. Her Etsy stores were eventually shut down. I continued to send her invoices until Paypal shut down her account for orders that were never received.

I reported her to the local police department, who told me to contact the Department of Labor. I contacted the Department of Labor, who advised me to file a civil suit. I reported her to the ICC, and I've pretty much kissed any chance of getting paid for services rendered goodbye.

I have kept all of my e-mails and communication with her as proof that she agreed to pay me for services rendered. All I can say to anyone else is to BEWARE BECAUSE SHE DOES NOT MAKE GOOD ON MONETARY ARRANGEMENTS. I hear she has opened a store at Cottonwood Mall called Stitched. I really hope the poor unsuspecting shoppers there don't get scammed like others online have.