A children’s shoe company formerly based in Naples, Florida, allegedly ripped off hundreds of customers by taking orders that were never fulfilled and then failing to issue refunds, according to interviews with customers, Better Business Bureau complaints, a report filed with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and messages allegedly sent by the business owner.
Monkey Feet Baby Shoes developed a fanbase among Facebook groups where thousands of new moms participate in a thriving market for new and used baby clothes.
“I don’t think I can ever trust a small business doing preorders like this. I would have been understanding if the owner was being honest and truthful about the whole situation,” said 30-year-old Tampa resident Sarah Woolley, who ordered shoes for her nieces rom the business Monkey Feet but never received them. “It’s my money that I worked for and it’s lost forever.”
Who owns Monkey Feet?
In 2015, Rachael Dalfonzo started Monkey Feet LLC in New Jersey, according to corporate registration documents. She began selling moccasins, sneakers and ballet flats for young children. She and her husband, Eric, designed the shoes and imported the finished products from China, according to an archive of the business’ now-defunct website.
The Dalfonzos could not be reached for comment by phone at their home in New Jersey or in person at the Naples condo unit they own.
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One buy, sell and trade group for Monkey Feet shoes has more than 30,000 members. The company’s private “VIP” group, where Dalfonzo would tease new designs, had more than 100,000 members before it stopped allowing new posts.
The shoes were affordable and stylish, said Kristin Arvallo, another jilted customer who now helps run a 17,000 member-strong “buyer beware” Facebook group created to discuss Dalfonzo’s alleged misdeeds.
“She kind of built a following about that,” said Arvallo, an Arizona resident.
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Shoes ordered, never received
Arvallo ordered shoes in March and April of 2022 and never received them, according to emails between her and the company provided to the Naples Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Network.. She and other customers began collecting evidence, including screenshots of Dalfonzo’s Facebook posts, messages and emails between her and frustrated customers and messages between Dalfonzo and the Chinese company that manufactured the shoes.
“I don’t have a lot of money to spend so knowing I am sitting on almost $200 of items never sent, especially before the holidays is just killing me,” Arvallo wrote to Monkey Feet’s corporate email address in November.
Collier County property records show the Dalfonzos bought a house in Naples for $3.925 million in September 2020. But they didn’t keep it long. In May 2021, they bought a unit in another Naples condo complex, for $190,000. Two months later, they sold the former property for $5.8 million.
The Dalfonzos then bought another home in Naples for $3.6 million. And in December of that same year, they rented a warehouse in a business park at 1478 Rail Head Boulevard in Naples, where they stored and shipped shoes. In the parking lot, a sign used to mark a reserved space for “The MF Boss;” it has since been removed.
The 7,700-square-foot warehouse, a single-story building with blinds drawn across its windows, still had an eviction notice fixed to its front door as of Saturday, April 1.
Delays on orders, refunds
Dalfonzo announced in the spring of 2022 that preorders for some shoes would be delayed for a few weeks. The delays extended into months and then through the end of the year, with Dalfonzo citing production backlogs, shipping delays, customs holdups and eventually Hurricane Ian, according to screenshots of messages and Facebook posts shared by the “buyer beware” group.
And when refunds were processed they sometimes did not come through, according to multiple customers. They posted screenshots of communications with PayPal’s customer service saying there were insufficient funds in Monkey Feet’s account to refund their purchase.
Arvallo filed for refunds through Paypal for three of her orders, though two were outside of PayPal’s 180-day window. In response, Dalfonzo accused her of “internet bullying” and blocked her from the company’s VIP Facebook group, according to the emails between Arvallo and Dalfonzo.
“You filed PayPal claims on all of your orders so you were blocked,” Dalfonzo wrote to Arvallo. “I doubt it is anything either of us are upset about.”
The Better Business Bureau, a non-governmental consumer protection group, has received more than 120 complaints against Monkey Feet in the last year. The Better Business Bureau reached out to Monkey Feet in January seeking a response to the complaints but has not received a response, according to the Bureau’s website.
Warehouse owner files suit
In January, the warehouse’s owner, PDJ LLC, sued to evict Monkey Feet, alleging the business had failed to pay rent. The couple failed to respond to the suit, and last month a judge ruled that Monkey Feet owed its landlord $255,000.
The court also found that Monkey Feet had abandoned property in the warehouse, including “boxes of shoes.” PDJ LLC did not return a request for comment.
In November, Arvallo filed a report against Dalfonzo with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office for alleged theft. The agency has closed its investigation and referred the case to the FBI, media relations officer Michelle Batten told the Naples Daily News. She advised customers with complaints to file them with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Arvallo said she hopes Dalfonzo will face consequences for taking advantage of her and other moms.
“We just don’t want this woman to file bankruptcy and just get away with all this stuff,” Arvallo said.
Naples Daily News
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