Cheer mom seeks refund after two months with no tumbling classes

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - A local mom just wants her money back from a cheerleading gym that never opened.

Sasha Myers signed up her daughter Eiley for tumbling classes at a soon-to-open Lake Charles Cheer Training (LCCT). After doing gymnastics at a different area gym, she thought it was time for a change.

“I’ve seen what has come out of Jaime’s class,” she said. “Children that have been taught by her, they’re fantastic. So yeah that’s where we wanted to go.”

Myers was hopeful Jaime Crawford, owner of LCCT, would coach her daughter.

After closing a previous location, Crawford said she planned to open LCCT somewhere new.

“We were supposed to start the first week of August,” Myers said. “I paid her on July 31. I mean it was a simple amount. $195 was covering a $45 registration fee and the first month of classes. She would be taking classes three times a week. I certainly found that reasonable and had no problem paying it upfront.”

The opening date just kept getting pushed back.

Myers said she grew frustrated having to tell Eiley classes weren’t going to start week after week. She said she even showed up to an address given by Crawford for class only to find it wasn’t LCCT and that the open date would be pushed back yet again.

“So we’re walking around this warehouse on Shady Lane and there’s workers in this empty warehouse and there’s nothing but concrete and it’s dark and no one knows what we’re talking about and there’s no Jaime,” Myers said.

7 News reached out to Jaime Crawford and she told us the gym is now set to open Monday, although she is still in the process of choosing a location.

However, not only does it not have a location, it’s corporate status is also in doubt.

We looked on the Secretary of State’s website and it shows that Lake Charles Cheer Training LLC’s corporate status has been revoked for not filing a business report since 2020.

We notified Crawford of this on the phone and she said she was unaware.

“You know, it’s a 9-year-old little girl and she’s expecting this three times a week so like three times a week I have to tell her it’s not happening,” Myers said.

After weeks, Myers said she was discouraged by there never being any classes for her daughter.

“So I asked for a refund,” Myers said. “At no point did she deny the refund. It just turned into a point where she kept coming up with reasons why I didn’t have it yet.”

Crawford said she tried to pay Myers and insisted she paid Myers, telling us during a phone conversation, “It’s $195. you can’t buy anything these days with that. I don’t want your [Myers’] money.”

We asked Crawford for details about the situation. She said she tried to send a refund over Zelle and shared an email she sent to Myers also saying she sent her a Zelle. We asked Crawford for confirmation of the payment - she sent us screenshots showing Sasha Myers was never a recipient on her Zelle.

We asked Crawford about Myers never receiving the digital payment. She told us she then offered to give Myers the refund in cash instead.

In a Sept. 18 text message provided to us by Myers, Crawford writes ‘I got cash out today and I’m driving back to LC right now. I’ll get a hold of you tomorrow when I get a break.”

That’s the last Myers claims she heard from her.

“It wasn’t even so much about the amount,” Myers said. “It was just that she ghosted me.”

Crawford insists she is trying to pay Myers. She told us she is reaching out to her bank.

Myers appears to not be the only one in a situation like this. Several other moms have also reached out to KPLC saying they’ve paid and not received classes.

“I posted it on Facebook and to Lake Charles Information Station,” she said. “Places where I felt like she [Crawford] couldn’t ignore me. I was making it very clear that this was not going to be ok and that there’s other people that are angry.”

Parents remain concerned but the gym has said it will be open on Oct. 2.

We’ll continue to follow this situation and bring you any updates.

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