The first thing that Brandi Ingram did when she connected with KPRC 2 Investigates was call the man who failed to deliver on what he promised her and many other small business owners and brides: the Magnolia Wedding Expo.
Ingram’s attempt to connect with the event organizer, Adam Dobres, resulted in the same outcome that KPRC 2 Investigates encountered when we attempted calling him a two Tennessee-based phone numbers connected to Dobres.
Ingram and others are desperately trying to get in touch with Dobres because as she puts it: “We’re out of money.”
The 35-year-old Ingram is the owner of NXT LVL Weddings and Events. Aside from being a small business owner, she’s also a mother with two little ones at home. She claims that she and others have lost hundreds to Dobres.
Gazi Asadullah, the owner of Ashlynne Manor in Magnolia, says he is out hundreds as well.
“The vendors who signed up, they had to pay the money, including us,” said Asadullah.
Asadullah says he’s concerned for his event venue’s reputation after he says Dobres took people’s money only to cancel at the last minute. He added that Dobres told him he was in the hospital after weeks of not providing any kind of insight on the event he was going to host.
Asadullah thought his silence was unusual.
Ingram said she and her assistant had a bad feeling when they were pulling up for the expo on Sunday morning. They opted to showcase their services instead of what they routinely do on weekends, create memories of a lifetime.
“It’s frustrating because we are running a business and we have been booked on the calendar since June for this particular expo so we have blocked it off completely and have turned away many brides who were requesting our services for their wedding day, so unfortunately it is what it is right now,” said Ingram.
KPRC 2 Investigates was able to confirm a documented history of Dobres hyping events only to fail on his promise to deliver after speaking with Chorus Nylander, the Chief Investigative Reporter at NBC Tucson (KVOA).
“He got on my radar when I started to hear just the number, across the country festivals, turning out horribly, not what customers expected at all,” said Nylander.
The word he heard from customers who had invested in events touted by Dobres was “cheated” and Nylander admits our call is one that he expected.
“Not surprised at all. I’ve almost been expecting such a phone call and waiting for one,” he said.
Ingram did inform KPRC 2 Investigates that Dobres reached out to her Monday afternoon claiming that she should email a member of her team named “Rick” to get a refund.
Ingram says she and others may end up filing a criminal complaint with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.