The Jackson Police Department is investigating a downtown skin care business for suspected financial crimes.
The complaint that spurred the investigation was separate from two rounds of small protests against “high pressure” sales tactics held outside JH Mountain Glow this summer, according to JPD Lt. Russ Ruschill.
The shop sells products that can cost thousands of dollars for a year’s supply and does some treatment on site. Employees standing on the building’s stoop often encourage passersby to come inside for samples. Some online complainants described being pressured into making expensive purchases feeling scammed.
JH Mountain Glow has also been the victim of recent antisemitic graffiti. The police have not yet found evidence to issue charges in that case, and the town has denounced the graffiti via press release.
While specifics of the active investigation and the complaint that led to it remain private, other complaints about the skin care business have been building in recent years.
The Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce had received at least five complaints over the course of about two years, according to the nonprofit’s CEO, Rick Howe. He said customers told the chamber they were charged between $300 and $700 after handing over a credit card for what they thought were samples.
“Somebody can be lured into the business and then erroneously end up being charged for a huge amount for something they didn’t [purchase],” he said.
The business owner, David Ben David, has not replied to repeated requests for comment, but the business remained open as of early September.
Police executed a search warrant on Aug. 5 for “suspected financial crimes,” Ruschill said. He could not elaborate and said next steps could take months. A police car had also been stationed outside the business for several days in August to independently video record any protesting action, he said.
A new ordinance from the Jackson Town Council limits how vendors can interact with potential customers. While this rule applies to JH Mountain Glow, councilors say they were also considering the First Amendment rights of others and businesses, such as balloon artists, guitar players and statue displayers, when they passed the update this summer.
“I would not say the rewrite of the ordinance was intended to address this particular business,” said Jackson Mayor Arne Jorgensen. “We’re constantly focusing on keeping our ordinances current on shifting constitutional law.”
The addition to the town’s solicitation ordinance prohibits people or businesses from attracting people by an array of techniques including “calling, shouting, hawking […] waiting, hailing, or otherwise signaling to passersby, or by touching or physically detaining them.”
Ruschill said the beefed up law hasn’t necessarily had an impact yet.
“We haven’t done any enforcement of it yet,” he said.
But at least two criminal misdemeanor cases have been opened after the first protest.
According to court records, protestor Ethan Millay, of Indiana, was cited for unlawful touching, without causing physical injury, after he allegedly walked into and pushed business owner Ben David during his June demonstration. Ben David was cited for “recklessly causing bodily injury” against Millay after allegedly using a sign to stop Millay from freely moving on a public sidewalk in a manner Millay claims made him strain his neck and temporarily bleed from his ear.
Ben David has pleaded not guilty through an attorney, who did not respond to a request for comment. The Florida businessman previously told KHOL that he believed the first round of protesters were motivated by antisemitism because of things they said to him, which the protestors denied. Two protestors from Indiana, including Millay, said an elderly family member had been scammed out of money. An attorney for Millay declined to comment on the active case against her client. Reached via text, Millay said his demonstration was never about race.
“I came to protest the company’s aggressive behavior and was assaulted by the owner for it,” he wrote.
None of the customer complaints made to the Chamber brought up the fact that the business is Jewish-owned, said Howe, the CEO and president.
“We would have stopped conversations immediately had that been the case,” Howe said.
Mayor Jorgensen said the July antisemitic graffiti was “unacceptable whether or not they are related to the [business] complaints.”
Overall, Howe said he was glad the police and town councilors had taken action to prevent aggressive sales tactics from any business, not just this one.
“We are a world-class destination and having anything less than acceptable business practices in place is not something that we should tolerate,” he said.
This story was updated to include comment from Ethan Millay. — Ed.
