Woman accuses South Florida chef of not showing up to prepaid event, denying her refund
A South Florida woman said she is out more than a thousand dollars after the private chef she hired never showed up.
Bridget McKinney said she paid over $1,300 to book a private hibachi chef, Johansen Oliva, the executive chef and C.O.O at Hibachi Joe.
She said she worked with him in the past and had no problems the previous two times...until now, he allegedly left her high and dry.
"The thought of not ever getting my money back – and I don't have money to throw away like that," McKinney said.
She had been planning this party for weeks. McKinney said she paid half when she booked and the rest the day of the dinner.
"Thirty minutes before we were to start, guests are there, everyone's ready for this live production… and then I get a text from a number I don't recognize stating they were involved in a car accident and there were minor injuries but major damages to the truck carrying the goods. I'm thinking, you've gotta be kidding me," McKinney said.
McKinney claims that when she tried calling and texting, there was no response.
Finally, the chef messaged her on social media, claiming he'd been in a car accident and would refund her the money.
But she said that refund still hasn't come.
"I texted the actual caterer who just texted me, see you soon… no response. Now I'm concerned, thinking maybe there was some serious injury and I should be worried," McKinney said.
Afterwards, McKinney claims that when she went on Yelp, and she found a dozen reviews from other customers, all with a similar story...claiming he didn't show up or refund their money.
One review from Ysabella C. claims: "he took our money and bailed over $700. Made up an excuse that he got into an accident."
Another review with photos attached from Skip S. claims: "No show Joe strikes again...called 1 hour prior to dinner claiming he had a car accident."
"It was unfortunate to read the reviews, but I thought to myself, I don't want someone else to lose 1300. This is hard-earned money that doesn't come easy. Especially in this day and age, who has that to just throw away?" McKinney said.
To make matters worse, McKinney paid using Cash App and said the app is requiring her a police report to get a refund since the vendor, Hibachi Joe, would not accept the refund through the app.
"I reached out to the local police department, my bank, Cash App, Zelle ... it's all linked... and I'm working on trying to recover the loss," McKinney said.
We reached out to the chef for comment, but calls went unanswered, our email bounced back, and a message on Instagram went unread.
"The most valuable piece is that the message gets out to others," McKinney said. "They need to be aware."
