Katie Oliver has changed her consumer habits. Taya Dianna is watching the magnitude of the case grow. And Kristin Bowen is ready to move on.
Those are some of the reactions to the indictment this month of Susan Losey, whose house-cleaning – or more correctly, lack thereof – has become the talk of the town.
Losey is accused of using her unlicensed cleaning business, Down & Dirty Cleaning Services, to defraud by collecting pre-payment for services that were not provided, according to the Delaware Department of Justice’s Fraud & Consumer Protection Division. “An indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt,” the department pointed out.
Losey was contacted through Facebook, one of the sources of her finding clients starting in April of 2019, but she did not respond.
“After using social media sites to promote her business and offer various deals and promotions, Losey required clients to pay upfront before receiving any cleaning services,” according to the announcement of the indictment. “Complaints indicate that Losey failed to provide the services and declined to refund payments when requested.”
“Definitely don’t pay up front for anything!” said Oliver, who originally managed a spreadsheet the mapped the extent of the allegations. “Only exception maybe if there’s some kind of contract in place. And just because a friend of a friend had a good experience with someone, it doesn’t mean you can trust them in any meaningful way. Do your homework.”
The state’s indictment mentions “multiple counts of theft with an aggregate loss of approximately $22,000” and more than 50 victims, but Dianna said that a spreadsheet includes more than 100 victims, mostly women in New Castle County but also as far as Cecil County.
Plus, she said she knows of at least five others who have opted out of joining the spreadsheet, including one “scammed out of thousands” for a year’s worth of cleaning. “I’m sure he’s embarrassed.”
Dianna said it was “exciting” to hear the news of the indictment.
“Hopefully, she will be paying for what she did,” Dianna said. “I’m certain that none of us will receive any money in return. She needs to be brought to justice.”
Losey promoted herself as a mother struggling financially, Town Square Live reported when it broke the news last September. “As a former single mom, that pulled at my heartstrings,” Dianna said.
Another hurt: Some clients who had given gifts to Losey’s children later saw Losey selling the gifts, Dianna said.
“I’m glad that they’re getting some sort of conclusion,” said Bowen, who started a Facebook group for women who said they were scammed. “I need to get that negativity out of my life.”
