Who could forget DeShawn Snow?! (~Crickets~). For those drawing a blank, DeShawn starred on Season 1 of Real Housewives of Atlanta. In the season that started one of Bravo’s greatest series, we meet a young, tough Linnethia Leakes as she navigates the budding stages of a tragic friendship with Kim Zolciak-Biermann. I remember, way back when, actually being captivated by Kim. My eyes had never witnessed such a character on-screen. Who was this wannabe songstress with the Barbie wigs, and cartons of Parliament Lites in the freezer? Kim may have intrigued me, but I’ll argue forever that the reason Season 1 of RHOA took off was because of DeShawn.
At the time, DeShawn was married to Eric Snow, who has since retired from the NBA. DeShawn came on RHOA to promote her philanthropy. In the episode “Bring on the Bling” (go watch it on whatever streaming service you can) DeShawn organizes a charity auction in the hopes of raising $1 million for underprivileged kids in Atlanta. She invited every single person who lived in Atlanta, passed out invites at the mall, and went on a morning show to promote the house-party. DeShawn’s party invite did not include a door fee or a required minimum bid for the auction. This proved to be a huge mistake. DeShawn basically invited a bunch of randoms to come over for free food and drink, bereft of any intention to bid in the auction. The party was an epic failure. DeShawn did not return for another season, and has since kept a pretty low profile. That is until now!
DeShawn is making headlines again, and once more it’s not good news. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, DeShawn is being accused of fraud. Since her days on RHOA, DeShawn has been working as a real estate agent. The lawsuit was just filed August 27, and the plaintiff in the suit is the company Thrivest, which “offers cash advances for not-yet-completed real estate commissions.” Pay attention because this makes zero sense – DeShawn allegedly tried to broker a commission with Thrivest by selling 22,632.12 carats of diamonds! (How many diamonds is that?!)
As the AJC reports, Thrivest “gave [DeShawn’s] company DSE Holdings $157,895.74 from the supposed commission of $746,859.96 for the spot purchase” of the diamonds. The deal did not go as planned and now Thrivest claims that DeShawn’s brokering deal was, “a sham, meant only to provide Snow with a basis to secure another advance to fund her lifestyle.” A housewife committing fraud? And to fund her lifestyle? This is unheard of!
As stated in the lawsuit, the money, “was not used for any legitimate purposes of DSE Holdings,” and was instead, “spent by Snow to pay off personal debts and other expenses not related to DSE Holdings,” the AJC reports. What’s shadier is that the lawsuit also states that, “subsequent to obtaining the advance from Thrivest, DSE Holdings ceased conducting any apparent business activity.” Thrivest is ultimately seeking $345,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. DeShawn’s going to have to host another auction to pay that off!
As the AJC reported, DeShawn states that the lawsuit is “bogus” and an attempt “to harass me and discredit my name and good standing within the business community.” She adds that Thrivest’s “contention that I committed fraud is a bald-face attempt to paint a picture of artifice and deceit where none exist and I dispute their assertions.” DeShawn continued with, “Because of my celebrity” (yeah, sure), “the company not only hopes to come after me personally, but also threaten my business relationships as well as generate unwanted and unpleasant media exposure.”
This doesn’t sound good for DeShawn. In all honesty, I’ll be shocked if she actually figured out how to commit fraud. Especially considering the fact that her Season 1 shenanigans netted her zero dollars. Either way, same story, different housewife.
TELL US- DO YOU THINK DESHAWN DELIBERATELY COMMITTED FRAUD? SHOULD SHE RETURN TO RHOA? HOW GOOD WAS SEASON ONE OF RHOA?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]