DALLAS — An agreed final judgment shows that, after settling with the State, North Texas influencer Brittany Dawn Davis has to pay $400,000 in penalties and restitution.
Davis had settled in May after Texas brought a lawsuit accusing her of scamming thousands of customers by not delivering fitness and nutrition plans.
The total payment includes $300,000 in civil penalties and $100,000 in restitution with both paid within the next three years. The $131,320 in attorneys' fees levied against her will not become due and payable unless Davis fails to comply with the permanent injunctions against her.
As part of the injunction, Davis is not permitted to offer or sell any nutrition or fitness plans that include personalized nutrition assessments, reassessments, one-on-one coaching, or workout routines unless she is able to provide them. She had previously sold plans for prices ranging from $92 to $300, but the lawsuit alleged that she had not provided the personalized coaching and guidance that she had promised. She also charged a shipping fee, even though the plans were emailed.
Moving forward, Davis is also not allowed to claim to have any special knowledge or training to address eating disorders.
The social media influencer is also forbidden from charging a shipping fee for goods or services delivered exclusively by email, the judgment adds.
Davis also has to admit wrongdoing, though, the settlement agreement says was overwhelmed and didn't have malicious intent.
"Defendants claim their failure to provide all services that were ordered was due to the volume of consumers," the document reads. "While Defendants admit wrongdoing, they maintain that at no time did Defendants fail to provide purchased services due to any malicious intent."
Cori Reali bought one of Davis' plans after finding her on Instagram in 2014.
“I started to feel those red flags pop up and I just had to literally make the decision like I’m done. This isn’t working for me," Reali said. “I gained like eight to nine pounds in that first week, which is detrimental to someone who has battled eating disorders.”
Reali had worked with the attorney general's office during the leadup to the trial and says accountability means far more for her than whatever financial compensation she'll end up receiving.
“I’m not trying to get my $90 back. It was never about the money for me," Reali said. "It’s not just one. It’s not just two. It’s thousands and thousands of us that have been impacted."
Should Davis fail to comply with these injunctions, the judgment states the full unpaid balance of civil penalties, restitution, and attorneys' fees will immediately become due to the State.
Davis has close to 500,000 Instagram followers and 1.3 million on TikTok. She built her following by posting fitness and health content and sharing how she overcame an eating disorder.
By 2019, though, thousands of people had complained that Davis wasn’t delivering them the customized plans they’d paid for. Davis went on Good Morning America to apologize.
“Jumped into an industry that had no instructional manual,” she said in 2019. “I’m basically going through uncharted territory.”
Then, a year ago, the attorney general’s office filed a deceptive trade practices act lawsuit.
Davis has continued to post on social media and has even gained half a million TikTok followers in the year since the state filed its suit, according to SocialBlade.
Davis has now pivoted her business to spirituality, selling tickets to Christian retreats for up to $300 per ticket. Davis and her attorney declined to comment on the settlement.
Reali says anyone buying should research her past.
“Be cautious honestly because a scammer is a scammer is a scammer," she said.