Griffin: ‘[S]cams like this do not pay off—for the scammer or the victim—and justice awaits those who prey on the needy.’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement after the Federal Trade Commission announced a $450,000 settlement in the 2020 lawsuit against Blessings In No Time, a Texas-based pyramid scheme, and its owners LaShonda and Marlon Moore:

“LaShonda and Marlon Moore operated an illegal pyramid scheme targeting financially distressed consumers across the country during the pandemic, costing Arkansans hundreds of thousands of dollars. The scheme encouraged consumers to recruit their friends, church members and communities to join on the promise of a quick return on their risk-free investment of $1,400 or more. Sadly, most consumers lost every dollar they contributed.

“This settlement requires the scammers to provide some restitution to consumers and prevents them from ever operating or promoting a scheme like this again. I hope this outcome serves as a warning that scams like this do not pay off—for the scammer or the victim—and justice awaits those who prey on the needy.”

Blessings In No Time was a “blessing loom” investment program that targeted African Americans and people struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the settlement, the Moores are banned by the Federal Trade Commission from operating a multi-level marketing business. To read a copy of the settlement, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 26 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin attends Immanuel Baptist Church and lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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