By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
Disgruntled moms are already filing formal complaints against Wakefield-based MommyMilk Creations following a WPRO exclusive investigation into the breast milk jeweler.
A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office said two formal complaints have been filed, both by mothers who live outside of Rhode Island. Others mothers tell WPRO they plan to file formal complaints in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the South County woman who makes the jewelry out of women’s breast milk took to WPRO’s The Matt Allen Show to reiterate that her business is not a scam.
Allicia Mogavero’s call into the show came after she declined in-person and telephone interviews with WPRO reporter Kim Kalunian, who was contacted by dozens of mothers that had sent their breast milk and their money to Mogavero. Some moms said they sent their orders in 2013 and have still not received their product.
The exclusive WPRO investigation made national headlines after the mothers said they had felt scammed by Mogavero.
READ MORE:
- Heartbroken moms fear fate of breast milk sent to RI jeweler
- LISTEN: Allicia Mogavero calls into Matt Allen
- RI mom makes jewelry from human breast milk
While the moms believe more than 100 women across the country have been affected by MommyMilk’s delays, Mogavero said the cries of “scam” are coming from just 15 mothers who are making “noise.” She said she doesn’t have any plans to reach out to those moms individually.
“[The process] can take longer than a year and I’ve always been up front, 100 percent,” said Mogavero.
She said the long wait times have been clearly disclosed on her website since 2013, but an Archive.org search of MommyMilkCreations.com dating back to January of 2014 shows a wait time of “up to 6 months to 1 year” listed in the FAQ section. The site at that time said of shipping: “12 weeks is average but not promised.”
An order confirmation obtained by WPRO dating back to 2013 states:
“Please be aware that my current turn over is 10-20 weeks, if this time frame is too much for you I ask that reconsider your purchasing decision. Time frames are just an estimate and it may take longer for you to receive your item. Please fully understand this when purchasing your item. I am not in anyway guaranteeing that your item will be done within 10-20 weeks this is just and estimate and it CAN take longer. On average it takes 12 weeks.”
Currently, Mogavero’s FAQ section includes information about turnover; it’s there she discloses the current wait times can be “10 weeks to over 1 year.”
Some women have been waiting close to two years.
Mogavero said the long wait is due to her unique and proprietary process used to preserve the milk and turn it into jewelry.
“I’m planning a YouTube video to show exactly the process that happens […] I think a lot of people are curious and at this point they’re demanding it,” Mogavero continued.
She said all the jewelry will be produced as promised, but the items will be delayed because of her backlog of orders.
