Woman Charged With Fraud for Alleged Wedding Dress Scam

After the wedding, some brides decide to take their wedding dress to the dry cleaners as a way to preserve their special gown. When these newly married individuals drop off their sentimental frocks, they trust that the ones working at the shop will handle the piece with special care. That wasn’t the case for dozens of brides in Queensland, Australia, however. On January 16, 2024, a 53-year-old woman was charged with fraud for scamming 70 brides by setting up a fake dry-cleaning business and selling their designer wedding dresses online.

The six-month investigation—which was coined Operation Victor Rickenbacker, per Brisbane Times—first began in July 2023 when a bride from Cairns, Australia, saw someone on social media wearing the exact same wedding dress that she customized. The bride first took the gown to the alleged criminal’s shop in September 2022, and she never saw the frock again, so she reported the incident to the police, who opened an investigation.

Since then, 69 other brides shared similar accounts, which spanned from January 2019 to July 2023, according to The Guardian. Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Matt Hogan said there may be even more victims who were affected, so he encouraged them to step forward. “If you have any information about suspected fraudulent businesses, please report it to Policelink,” he said.

During the investigation, detectives in Cairns, Australia, issued a search warrant at properties in Edmonton, Cairns North, and Smithfield, according to a statement that the Queensland police released. They also “allegedly seized electronic devices, documents, and replica wedding gowns,” per the report. On January 30, 2023, the woman will appear in court. “At this stage of the investigation, we are alleging that in excess of $110,000 of detriment has been caused to the victims,” detective Owen Rodgers told Brisbane Times.

A similar incident happened at a bridal salon in New Jersey, which People reported in May 2023. Nidelka Mayers, the owner of the shop, was charged with five counts of theft by deception after customers allegedly paid for their wedding dresses but never received them. The victims contacted the Maplewood Police about their missing gowns and claimed that their garments never arrived and that the business never contacted them. These customers shared stories that are dated back to August 2022.