‘Dining with Darius’ accused of giving homeowners heaping helping of heartburn

ATLANTA – On the internet meals individuality Darius “Cooks” Williams may have violated many short-expression rental procedures in addition a city ordinance when he hosted a compensated event previous thirty day period in Atlanta.

This arrives just one thirty day period following a Vrbo home-owner in Texas termed police to have Williams removed when she recognized what he was genuinely doing in her dwelling.

Foodstuff Fight: ATLANTA-Centered INFLUENCER POSTS Private Details OF CRITICS

Williams, 40, rates $215 just about every for a seven-system food he prepares and serves to shoppers in a variety of cities all over the place. The price is thanks to rise to $289 following 12 months.

He pushes the situations by means of his social media internet pages, some of which assert much more than 1 million followers.

But his Atlanta-primarily based organization DariusCooks has been the matter of numerous complaints from consumers who say they did not get what they compensated for.

When Williams disregarded their issues, some sad consumers posted their problems on his social media web-sites. Williams responded by blocking critics or posting their private data on-line to notify his followers. Some would then bombard the original poster with offensive remarks.

Williams’ corporation has an F-ranking with the Much better Small business Bureau.

We experimented with to ask Darius Williams concerns at this Vrbo dwelling a number of hrs just before a single of his Eating with Darius situations. He experienced no remark and shut the doorway.

From March 17 to the 22, Williams held 1 of his Dining with Darius occasions in a dwelling on Northside Travel in Collier Hills.

The property was booked through the quick-term rental website Vrbo. House guidelines for that tackle forbid any “gatherings” and boundaries the number of visitors to eight.

Movies posted by individuals show much far more than that. Williams frequently sells 30 tickets per party.

“Oh wow,” reported the home’s assets manager Toby Jackson when revealed a photo of the occasion. “I appear before the guests and right after the visitors.”

Did he hope 30 company in the household?

“No sir,” Jackson answered.

The house owner performs out of condition and could not be achieved for comment. Williams instructed the FOX 5 I-Team he broke no policies but would not provide any proof the house owner knew what he prepared to do with his home.

The residence is now for sale.

Williams also routinely serves Sangria to his paying out company. At just one location property videos demonstrate visitor dipping their cups in a communal plastic bucket.

He’s also posted video clips describing he will make his Sangria with rosé wine and cognac.

In Atlanta, just one client posted a movie on the way property from the function showing her slurring her text with a graphic expressing that the “‘Red Drank’” Sangria is Kickin in now.”

Atlanta police say a compensated party with alcohol need to have a unique use permit. None was received for that Collier Hills residence.

Williams declined to solution the FOX 5 I-Team’s question about whether alcoholic beverages was served and why he did not get the good allow.

A different limited time period rental business Airbnb verified Williams is “prohibited” from employing their web site.

This former Darius Cooks worker states he requested to use her Airbnb account to e-book his up coming function. The property owner afterwards sent her a $10,000 bill for damages.

The ban appears to go again to at the very least 2016. That’s when a former worker named Nadiyah (she asked us not to use her very last title) mentioned Williams approached her about making use of her Airbnb account to guide a person of his activities.

“My initially week working for him he was like ‘Wow, I’m owning trouble receiving into my Airbnb. I really don’t know what’s going on,’” she remembered.

She would appear to regret her final decision to e book the place with her personal Airbnb account.

“Picture my surprise when a 7 days later on I get an electronic mail stating ‘Hey, you owe Airbnb $10,000 due to the fact you trashed this person’s residence,'” Nadiyah reported.

She informed the property owner Williams was responsible and wound up not acquiring to pay out the damages.

“If you’re a company operator who (messes) up your standing on Airbnb, you never have yet another driver’s license. You’ve obtained to find yet another sucker to use their account that is in great standing to continue on your small business,” Nadiyah reported, pointing to herself.

A person of lots of Darius Cooks shoppers complaining about not getting a promised refund.

In February, a Dallas, Texas Vrbo operator termed law enforcement to take away Williams when she suggests she realized what he was doing with her residence.

She mentioned Williams had “blown the electrical process by internet hosting a commercial kitchen dinner” with no her authorization.

As a substitute, Williams built positive to go reside on Instagram to accuse the home owner of currently being the serious lousy male.

He canceled the rest of the Dallas occasions, but some of his prospects attained out on the web when they did not get promised refunds:

“No reaction from you at all and no refund for the two tickets I acquired. I am out $430 and a airplane ticket.”

“How prolonged will it just take to get my refund from the Dallas event?”

“He blocked me instantly without having responding.”

When a Dallas, TX Vrbo proprietor requested Williams taken off from her household, he posted her cell telephone quantity and inspired his followers to call her. He would afterwards boast that “you lit that cellular phone up!”

Most reputable providers will respond quickly to buyers who complain they did not get the merchandise or provider they paid out for.

But Darius Williams makes use of a tactic no genuine business would even dare take into account.

It’s identified as doxing, maliciously putting up someone’s private details. When Danielle Holland anonymously criticized Williams for how he treated his shoppers, he responded by tweeting pics of her youngsters.

“I noticed the caption he set: notify Danielle Holland we mentioned hello,” she explained. The Hollands filed a police report. The shots of her youngsters stay on Williams’ Twitter feed.

Williams also produced community the mobile cellular phone selection for the proprietor of that Dallas home who called police to force him to leave.

He urged his followers to get in touch with or textual content her.

Williams later on posted an additional video bragging that the reaction was so fantastic, the police questioned him to eliminate the mobile phone quantity from his page.

“Baby… when I tell you, you lit that cell phone up!” he laughed although lying in mattress praising the reaction of his adoring admirers.