Authorities in Pennsylvania are suing Instagram influencer Dana Chanel for allegedly using her social media platform to promote products and services that ripped off consumers, particularly Black small business owners.
Chanel, whose real name is Casey Olivera, has over 796,000 Instagram followers and is based in Philadelphia. She is the founder of Curl Bible, a hair and skincare brand, as well as Sprinkle of Jesus, a Christian mobile app that she’s described as the largest online ministry in the world with 5 million users.
On her Instagram, she shares funny Reels about running businesses, posts promoting her products, and content about her family.
“Dana Chanel built a following online by presenting herself as a black woman-owned small business success story,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a press release Thursday. “She advertised the products of her companies as a way for other black small business owners to achieve what she did. Then, she ripped off the same community she claimed to care about.”
