Several women have come forward claiming to be swindled out of tens of thousands of dollars by an Atlanta socialite. Fred Williams, also known to many as “Will” or “Doc Will,” has gained a reputation online for being an “Urban Swindler.”
Women like Allayah Williams, Kimberly Austin, and Neka Millie have all shared similar stories about being ghosted by Williams after being convinced to invest thousands of dollars into business endeavors that they now believe may have been fake all along.
Despite the fact that Williams denies these claims, the women have decided to take legal action. Friend and associate to Williams, Rich Dollaz, also spoke with The Shade Room in an attempt to clear his friend’s name.
Could this all be a misunderstanding? Or is there another “swindler” preying on women?
The Shade Room investigates…
Kimberly Austin said she trusted him. They had met back in 2017 at a nightclub in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she says he tried to shoot his shot.
“He made it known to me that he liked me, and I was like ‘yeah, I’m not really interested. But we can be cool,” Kimberly told TSR Investigates’ Justin Carter.
The two remained friends for years and spoke often. One day, they started talking business.
“He was like ‘you’re always working, you should invest your money,'” she said he told her.
Kimberly agreed and asked about what companies she should invest in, which Williams assured her he knew people he could link her up with for investment opportunities.
One of those businesses, a marijuana company called Bluntly in Illinois. He asked for $5,000, to which Kimberly made in a series of payments.
She said he promised a return on her investment within a years time, and while she waited, he sent over a contract for one of his other businesses, a trucking company under the name Fleet Management.
It said Kimberly would be investing $20,000 for the leasing of a semi-tractor/trailer truck, with an additional one-time payment of $2,500 for initial insurance deposit costs.
Under those terms, she would make 45 percent of the profit made on the leased truck.
Williams even managed to swindle Kimberly’s mother out of $2,100. By the year’s end, he had cut off all communication and blocked both Kimberly and her mother on Cashapp.
“He’s doing this to girl’s who have businesses, good jobs, single moms. Women that he knows are needy in some areas,” she went on to say.
Allayah Williams had an almost identical story. Williams had approached her for investment opportunities for the trucking company, as well as a string of nightclubs called Cru, which is owned by Dennis McKinley, the ex-fiance of Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams.
She put in $3,500 for a nightclub that was set to open in Raleigh this year.
But just like in Kimberly’s case, Williams ceased all contact with her by the year’s end.
Allayah eventually hired a private investigator and contacted the Chief Operating Officer Cara Wilson, who informed her that her contract was legit, but that Williams never went forward with purchasing the franchise.
She told Allayah that she was not the only person to contact her regarding Williams’ business dealings.
DeMarques Tolan was in the military with Williams. He and four of his military friends each put in $6,000 for a 20 percent stake in the nightclub.
After not hearing from him, Tolan and his fellow military investors asked for their money back. Williams then sent him pictures of the club’s architecture, but he added “no moves were being made.”
“He really been going state to state to state doing this to people,” Tolan added. “And it’s mainly females, that’s what pisses me off the most. These women trust you man, that’s crazy.”
Meanwhile, Cara Williams of Cru nightclubs released a statement condemning Williams and distancing themselves from his schemes.
“We are utterly shocked and surprised by the allegations that we have heard regarding Fred Williams. Mr. Williams inquired about owning and operating a Cru franchise in Raleigh, North Carolina, but never went past due diligence phase and subsequently wasn’t approved to own and operate a Cru. We have no affiliation whatsoever with Mr. Williams and have no further comment.”
Neka Millie, another alleged victim, says at first everything checked out, because “it was a real contract, that’s how he was able to get over on me.”
“I was supposed to get my first payout from the trucking business on March 1. About two weeks before was supposed to receive my payment, that’s when he went totally dead radio silent.”
The Shade Room reached out to Williams for a response, to which he said it was all untrue and a giant misunderstanding.
He said he had no further comment and will take everything to court.
Love & Hip Hop’s Atlanta star Rich Dollaz also came up in our investigation. We’re told he and Williams are friends.
“I spoke to Will about it, and he basically said it was a misunderstanding, he had some business ventures with some people, and sometimes business ventures take a little bit longer to kick in,” Dollaz said.
He added he will be giving Williams the benefit of the doubt, saying “I know Will, and I don’t want this over Will’s head, because he’s a good guy.”
We also asked Williams why there is no record of his marijuana company Bluntly. He said the company operates as DBA, or “doing business as.” By definition, that is when a person operates a business under fake name before it becomes a legal business.
His alleged victims say they are moving forward with lawsuits against him.
TSR Investigates explores cold cases and special interest news stories underrepresented in mainstream media.
