A Crofton couple who operated a business to support expectant families has been ordered to pay more than $600,000 in penalties and more than $60,000 to former customers for not providing promised services.
According to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, Heather and Ryan Delaney, owners of Maryland State Doulas, will have to make the payments for violating the Consumer Protection Act.
From 2017 through 2023, Maryland State Doulas offered an array of services to families before, during and after the birth of a child. These services ranged from pregnancy and lactation support to sibling care.
The Delaneys did not provide the doula-related goods and services they promised to customers, according to the attorney general’s office. Instead, the couple would take advance payments and spend them on things like retail shopping, trips to Disney theme parks and golf courses.
The two were not criminally charged by the state.
According to an order issued by the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office, 29 consumers who testified or offered evidence in this case “suffered serious financial harm” by the Crofton-based company. “… But these consumers only represent a portion of the consumers who were likely harmed by the respondents,” the order said.
The attorney general’s office said Heather Delaney and doulas working for the company did not have the certifications, training or experience they said they did. The order said the Delaneys attempted to hide this by creating fraudulent certifications they could show customers.
“Expectant and new parents trusted Maryland State Doulas to provide them with much-needed support services through pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood, but Heather and Ryan Delaney instead pocketed their money and failed to provide the services they promised,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a news release. “This case sends a clear message that our Office will not tolerate businesses that prey on trusting families during one of life’s most important moments.”
The Delaneys are also prohibited from taking payments from consumers before providing services unless they post a surety bond of $250,000 with the Consumer Protection Division, according to the order.
Before the Delaneys were charged with violating the Consumer Protection Act by the state last year, Maryland State Doulas already had a reputation for bad business practices. The company’s Better Business Bureau profile shows a pattern of complaints about customers not receiving services and having a hard time requesting refunds.
Efforts by the Capital Gazette to reach the Delaneys were unsuccessful.
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