Phoenix quinceañera shop and owner accused of defrauding customers sued for $310K
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ Office on Thursday morning announced a lawsuit against a businesswoman whose customers accused her of defrauding them of more than $40,000 before her Phoenix quinceañera shop abruptly closed in October.
The suit comes as the defendant, an El Paso, Texas-area resident, was arrested earlier this month on theft charges reportedly in connection to a bridal shop she is said to own. Renee Jessica Cuellar also faces a lawsuit filed on behalf of a mall there, according to media reports.
According to the complaint, Oh La La by Posh owner Cuellar, never furnished 31 customers with the quinceañera dresses they paid her a total of $43,855 in deposits from April 13, 2022 to Oct. 6.
The Attorney General’s Office’s suit is seeking at least $310,000 in claims, or $10,000 for each "willful violation" by Cuellar, the complaint states. The suit is also seeking to permanently bar Cuellar and Oh La La from selling and advertising apparel in Arizona.
"Oh La La promised families that they would have the perfect dress for their daughter’s once-in-a-lifetime quinceañera celebration," Mayes said in a statement. "Instead, Oh La La pocketed its customers’ deposits and closed up shop, leaving young women without the dresses of their dreams and without recourse. My office will not stand for such heartless and unscrupulous business practices."
More: 'Heartbroken' girls left without quinceañera dresses as Phoenix shop abruptly closes
As of Thursday morning, Cuellar had not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Quinceañeras mark a rite of passage for Latina girls turning 15, and celebrations tend to be costly with immediate and extended family members taking on responsibilities to carry them out.
Behind on payments
Operating since January 2017 on North 16 Street off East Glenrosa Avenue in central Phoenix, the shop closed Oct. 13 without notice to customers, according to the suit and multiple accounts given to The Arizona Republic at the time. Posh Bridal in El Paso, also owned by Cuellar, closed the same day, the suit makes note.
The suit cites multiple examples indicating Oh La La deceived its customers.
Cuellar marked up the dresses’ retail price by about 200%-250%, and would then collect customer deposits equal to about 50%-100% of the total due, the suit alleges.
Customers would pay for dresses through the money transfer app Zelle linked to an account Cuellar controlled, the suit continues. But Cuellar, the suit contends, would not pay the third-party designers her customers were ordering the quinceañera dresses from.
The suit alleges that instead of handing over dresses customers paid for, Cuellar kept them or sold the merchandise to another Phoenix quinceañera shop.
The suit reveals that throughout 2022 and 2023, Cuellar was behind on payments to third-party designer Mon Cheri. By late August of last year, Cuellar owed the vendor a little more than $33,000, the suit mentions. Cuellar defaulted on a payment plan started with Mon Cheri in September and owes the designer $20,063.27.
Cuellar in late May failed to pay $29,800 to New York-based Fenix Capital Funding, LLC in an agreement where the business was supposed to sell 9% of its revenue, the suit details. As a result, according to the lawsuit, New York state’s Kings County Clerk entered a $49,742 default judgment against Cuellar’s business.
"Because of Defendants’ poor financial health — including their unwillingness and/or inability to pay their bills — they knew or should have known that they could not reliably fulfill customer orders for which they accepted deposits," reads the suit.
The suit argues Cuellar lied to customers about when their orders would be delivered and the availability of dresses.
Also named as a defendant in the suit is a John Doe Cuellar, which the complaint states is listed under the possibility Renee Cuellar is married and the state can receive money off property owned by this potential person.
Charges in El Paso
Following the shuttering of Oh La La, families spoke with The Republic about their experiences with the store. A Tucson family at the time said they received no dress despite paying $2,834 to Oh La La. A Phoenix mom said she put down $870 on a dress she and her daughter never saw.
"This is a special day for our girls and for them to be heartbroken — it just angers me all over again that someone would do this to kids," said Mari Estrada, a West Valley mother who is alleging she paid $1,500 for a quinceañera dress her daughter never received.
On Oct. 23, The Republic reached Cuellar by phone. She said she was talking with lawyers about allegations she and her business faced at the time. Cuellar said she would take further questions from The Republic the following afternoon. Upon answering, however, the phone call was put on hold. She did not respond to subsequent calls and texts.
Public records show that in July, New York-based Reliable Fast Cash filed a $33,502 lien on Oh La La, Posh Bridal and an El Paso home, all under Cuellar's name.
Cuellar was arrested March 2 in El Paso County, according to multiple reports. Cuellar is charged on suspicion of two state jail felony counts of theft of property, between $25,000-$30,000, according to El Paso County District Clerk records.
She was released the same day as she was booked and is also facing a lawsuit from the Fountains at Farah, an El Paso shopping center where Posh Bridal is located, according to a KFOX 14 report.
Cuellar opened Posh Bridal after her mother in 2006 won millions in the Texas Lottery, according to a 2016 ABC 7 KVIA report.
"You don’t forget where you come from and it’s more about giving other people opportunities," Cuellar was quoted by the TV station as saying about the winnings.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona AG sues Phoenix quinceañera shop Oh La La by Posh for $310K
