JEREMY MICHAEL DERKS is a CONT ARTIST

We first connected with Jeremy Michael Derks in a Las Vegas church thanks to a common buddy. When we first spoke, Jeremy stated “The Drop Shipping Company, LLC,” an online store he runs and operates through Shopify. We chose to proceed with the investment after additional detailed conversation with Jeremy. For a 24-month period, Jeremy asked for an initial investment of $30,000 to create, operate, and offer services for 2 Shopify businesses. He promised that after the initial money was made, the stores would be operational in 3–4 days. On or about May 17, 2023, we sent Jeremy the initial $30,000 through wire transfer from our bank (Navy Federal), and he acknowledged receiving the payment. After the cash was received, Jeremy started building the businesses with our help and kept in touch as necessary. When the 3- to 4-day mark came and went, none of our stores were open for business. Days quickly turned into weeks, and Jeremy began offering us numerous justifications for why the stores weren’t done. When it came time to building the storefronts, keeping the ads up, and sustaining the sales as promised, Jeremy started to become less attentive and communicative. During this time, we began to grow suspicious and began to study Jeremy online. We discovered several reports, complaints, videos, and testimonials of Jeremy being a con artist and defrauding numerous individuals for years out of tens of thousands of dollars if not more. Since that time, Jeremy has neglected his promise to develop our stores and has been silent about the state of the project or his plans. When we asked for our money back, he said that he would provide us establishments that are already established and earning $2,000 to $5,000 per month, but that was the extent of it—it was just a verbal promise with no follow-through. Since it has been more than a month, we have decided to band together with other victims to bring charges against Jeremy at the federal level.