This afternoon, my iPhone 16 stopped displaying. I wasn’t sure if the device was turned off or if the display stopped working. I brought it to the Apple Store, where they informed me that this issue seemed to be a trend happening with other iPhone 16 users. They couldn’t guarantee that my data could be saved/retrieved. I purchased this iPhone when I was preparing for Miami trip with The Brand Code, so it had some contents from the trip as well as videos that I prepared while taking their course. Now, it seems like maybe divine intervention or divine timing to start on a clean slate. Getting rid of the memories of the dysfunctional Miami trip, and starting over on my own terms.
What Happened?
I got scammed by The Brand Code led by Afnan Khalifa. I met Afnan and her partners Jasmine Elizabeth and Dray (Sandra) in Miami for a last-minute trip. I was part of the private jet plan, and it was a total mess and sham. Although I was recovering from tendonitis and asked them if I would have access to a team that would help me edit, after confirming with them these details, they threw me for a loop and told me that I would not have access to any specialists. Roy, the head of support, offered me a 50% refund with a ChatGPT response. And when I inquired further, they offered a full refund. I didn’t believe in them anymore when they wanted me to sign an NDA. So I disputed the charges with my credit card company. However, I only ended up with half the money I spent for the program. So I incurred a loss of thousands of dollars…
It was embarrassing to admit this publicly that I had been scammed thousands of dollars by The Brand Code and Afnan Khalifa and Dray. I don’t know if Jasmine Elizabeth was made aware of this as well, but I tried contacting her and letting her know of my dissatisfaction. What I do know is that I’m not the only one who was scammed. Almost all or all of the other participants for the first Miami trip wanted/requested a refund.
I don’t even want to get into how much stress and chaos I endured while signing up and ultimately being pushed out of the program. I followed all the homework assignments, carefully going through the content. I didn’t get past the introductory module with the pre-training, and Roy (aka Artem) told me weeks in the I was not a fit for the program. How could he offer a 50% refund when the whole reason I joined the program was to have access to their specialists who would help our content go viral? They HAD no specialists, that’s why. It’s a total scam and my hope is that by posting on my blog, that other women can avoid getting scammed.
The business is based in Ontario, so if you’re in the US, it makes it more complicated to go after them or sue or anything. I endured a lot of stress and had to go to the hospital because of this scam. If you’re finding this post because you’re considering joining The Brand Code, I’m here to tell you not to do it. Afnan does not tell you anything different from free content. She and the other girls and the team members didn’t help us to film viral content in Miami. It is all hype with no show. Like I said, several participants were dissatisfied and tried to get refunds in their own ways. I’m over it at this point and I’m positive that I can make money on my own terms somehow. But going through this has me thinking again about ever signing up for one of these influencers’ expensive programs ever again.
This program that I enrolled it was supposed to be a done-for-you program. You would learn the tools and how to use them, but they promised a team for a year that would do it for you in the meantime. They severely under-delivered, and it makes no sense to spend thousands for content that you can easily find online for free or with ChatGPT.