Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced a Final Order against Heather and Ryan Delaney of Maryland State Doulas, LLC for violating the Consumer Protection Act by accepting payments for doula services they failed to provide. The order includes a $606,500 penalty, restitution to affected consumers, and a requirement to post a $250,000 bond before accepting future payments.
Per the news release distributed on Monday, June 2: “Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has issued a Final Order against Heather and Ryan Delaney, who operated Maryland State Doulas, LLC, a Crofton-based company, for violating the Consumer Protection Act by selling doula services to consumers in and near Maryland without providing the promised services or refunds.
The Consumer Protection Division’s Final Order prohibits the Delaneys from taking payments from a consumer before providing services unless they have posted a surety bond in the amount of $250,000 with the Consumer Protection Division. It also requires the Delaneys to pay a $606,500 penalty and return all of the monies they collected from consumers for promised doula goods and services that were not provided.
“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,” said Attorney General Brown. “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 offered doula goods and services including pregnancy support, labor and delivery support, postpartum support, overnight support, sibling care, lactation support, and placenta encapsulation services. They collected thousands of dollars in advance payments from consumers but, in many cases, failed to provide services in whole or in part.
The Delaneys also charged consumers’ credit cards additional amounts that the consumers had not authorized. When consumers requested refunds, the Delaneys sent fake refund receipts, and sometimes strung consumers along for months with claims of attempted refunds that were never provided. They also spent consumers’ money to fund their personal lifestyles, including trips to Disney, retail shopping, golf courses, and entertainment.
The Delaneys also falsely claimed that Ms. Delaney and some of the doulas working for Maryland State Doulas possessed doula-related certifications, training, and experience that they did not have.
The Office of Administrative Hearings took testimony and evidence from 45 former customers of Maryland State Doulas. Based on this evidence, the Division found that the Delaneys owed 29 of these consumers at least $60,877.61 for payments they made to Maryland State Doulas for services that were not provided.
Consumers with questions may call the Consumer Protection’s Health Education and Advocacy Unit hotline at (410) 528-1840.”