bad blood The collaboration between tech bootcamp MyTechBestfriend and its many former students isn’t over yet, according to nearly a dozen people who spoke to TechCrunch.
November, TechCrunch Explained Conflict between Mary Awodele, founder of MTBF in Texas, and her students. The students accused Awodele of bullying and harassment, while claiming that the MTBF program, which costs up to $6,000, includes plagiarized courses that can be found online at more affordable prices. At the time, Awodele told TechCrunch she was unable to comment on the allegations “due to ongoing legal proceedings.”
Since then, those who have opposed Awodele and the plan say they are struggling to get refunds and face continued harassment.
Meanwhile, Awodele posted online her plans to rebrand the company in the new year in screenshots from an Instagram story seen by TechCrunch. She also hired a Texas attorney, gold dailyand brings Kurt Bend, Florida attorney, advises MTBF. Neither Awodele nor The Daily responded directly to TechCrunch’s request for comment, but Bender responded to a series of questions sent to Awodele. MTBF has no immediate plans to rebrand, Bender said.
To request a refund, the students said they started contacting Stripe, one of MTBF’s payment processors, according to a receipt seen by TechCrunch. The MTBF then posted an Instagram story saying it hoped the new scheme would be for those “Affirm, Klarna or Afterpay kinda person”. MTBF also said it wanted to get involved in career services and would vet prospective students to ensure new programs had a more “mature demographic”.
#MyTechFallout continues
A major point of contention between Awodele and her students continues to be the fees paid to attend the MTBF program. Awodele told students she would issue refunds to those who wished to withdraw after the fallout in late November, although the course contracts signed by the students stated that MTBF would not process any refunds. The student told TechCrunch that the refund process has been inconsistent with Awodele’s promises.
An email forwarded to TechCrunch on Nov. 18 shows that an MTBF employee agreed to return Shay, a former student who requested the nickname, within 10 days. Shay followed up 10 days later but MTBF replied: “Hello. Call your bank and please do not email us again. Thank you.”
Allegations of deception by the program also continued to spread. Some students sent TechCrunch their MTBF receipts, indicating that their transactions were processed as gifts rather than services, possibly as a tactic to avoid taxation on the income generated. If the purchases were indeed treated as gifts, it would be an income misclassification that would affect how MTBF is taxed and could land Awodele in serious legal trouble, including jail time, two financial experts and attorney David Reischer said. Reisher and Reisher told TechCrunch.
Bender said MTBF was “unaware that the scholarship transaction was being treated as a gift, and it is correcting and remediating the situation.”
Awodele also threatened to report multiple students to the credit bureaus if she lost the banking dispute, according to letters seen by TechCrunch. However, Bender said MTBF “never sent anyone to the credit bureaus” but “engaged with Fidelity Information on two occasions.”
Fearing reprisals from Awodele, former student Victoria successfully disputed MTBF tuition fees with her bank using an alias. Then, according to documents seen by TechCrunch, she received a letter from what appeared to be a debt collector, Fidelity Information Corporation. The letter, which seeks to recover tuition on MTBF’s behalf, says payments are to be mailed directly to MTBF and lists an address associated with an apartment building in Houston, rather than FIC in Los Angeles. (Bender said this was due to FIC’s terms of participation. FIC could not be reached for comment.
Many students continue to report MTBF to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the FBI, and the IRS, all of which have contacted students about allegations of MTBF, according to some students. (The IRS declined to comment, while the FBI and TWC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.) “The MTBF is in a meeting,” Bender said. [TWC] regulatory requirements,” and became aware that “at least one former student said they were contacted by the FBI and FTC. “
Students who initially spoke out about the allegations against MTBF say they continue to face harassment. On Dec. 15, former student Charlie woke up to a text message stating that her name was in a flower pot somewhere in Haiti.
“Must pray for the evil in your heart. When a string of bad luck starts to hit you. Just know it’s us. It’s done. So let it be. Ashe,” read the text, which was followed by a Photographs of what appear to be items used in witchcraft.
Bender told TechCrunch, “The founder of the MTBF was a Christian and a Nigerian who neither practiced[s] do not participate[s] in witchcraft. He added, however, that MTBF does employ a “hippie-like approach to students, including lighting candles and displays of personal success.
“But there was never anything against the enemy,” he noted.
Charlie, whose last name has been withheld, believes Awodele gave her phone number to people to harass her. TechCrunch previously reported that Awodele has a group called #MTBFSPECIALFORCES that she sends to those who speak out against her or the company. Two hours after TechCrunch reached out to Awodele and her attorney for comment, Charlie received a message from Bender, who wrote that MTBF “or its affiliates” were involved in the alleged threat — something TechCrunch told them a few hours earlier. the question raised.
“Please report these threats to law enforcement and MTBF will assist with any investigation,” Bender wrote in an email seen by TechCrunch. Charlie replied: “There’s nothing to do but see you in court.”
A current student told TechCrunch that the voodoo incident scares a lot of people out of fear of reprisal from Awodele, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal from Awodele, adding to the fear that most students continue to attend the program. Although MTBF restarted, it was unclear how many students dropped out and how many stayed.
“She’s a narcissist with a God complex who thinks she’s untouchable and needs to be shut down,” said Amber, a former student who uses a pseudonym for fear of retribution from Awodele, of the founder. . “We’re not going to stop until she can’t do that to anyone else.”
