Attorney General Nessel files lawsuit against Mississippi dropshipping company

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel served a class action lawsuit to a Mississippi man and his LLC. AF LLC, also known as ACF Wholesale.

Nessel accuses the man of failing to deliver products sold by his company.

The owner, a Columbus, MS man named Benjamin Moody, operates a dropshipping furniture business. A dropshipping business is a company that acts as a third-party intermediary between a customer and a manufacturer.

Typically, a customer orders an item from a dropshipper, and then the dropshipper orders the item from a traditional retailer, such as Target, Amazon, Temu, or Walmart. The Dropshipper orders the items in the customers’ name and ships the item to their home, but never actually handles any stock.

Dropshipping is not illegal, but it often more expensive than ordering an item directly from the retailer.

Nessel began investigating Moody’s company after the Better Business Bureau (BBB) reported receiving dozens of Michigan complaints against ACF Wholesale.

ACF Wholesale received 2,000 BBB complaints from 2020 to 2023, with more than half the complaints being filed in 2023.

The complaints allege ACF Wholesale taking orders and payment for furniture, but never delivering, often making excuses and refusing to provide a refund.

In December, 2023, Nessel ordered ACF Wholesale to identify all Michigan-based customers and how many customers were awaiting refunds.

ACF’s website is no longer up, but the company can still legally operate in Michigan.

“When a business completely fails to deliver products, and further abandons refund requests, my department will continue to rise to the defense of Michigan consumers,” said Nessel.  “ACF Wholesale still wrongfully holds thousands of dollars, maybe more, owed back to the people of our state and others. I strongly encourage any Michigan residents who have been harmed by this company to file a complaint with my consumer protection team. We know there are more victims out there and we want to help.”

Nessel accuses the company of “failing, in a consumer transaction that is rescinded, canceled, or otherwise terminated…to promptly restore to the person or persons entitled to it a deposit, down payment, or other payment.”

The complaint seeks:

• an order finding Moody and his LLC jointly and severally liable;
• an award of monetary damages to the three specified complainants, as well as, all similarly situated Michigan consumers;
• injunctions prohibiting ACF from engaging in further transactions with Michigan consumers;
• injunctions against Moody and any entity he creates, owns, or manages from engaging in business with Michigan consumers; and
• civil fines, and enforcement costs and fees.

Anyone who experienced similar treatment from ACF Wholesale can contact the Consumer Protection Team at P.O. Box 30213 Lansing, MI 48909 517-335-7599 Fax: 517-241-3771 Toll-free: 877-765-8388

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