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Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) St. Louis advises consumers to use caution if doing business with Yah’ki Awakened LLC, a Florissant-based herbal health business. Consumers reported to BBB that the company failed to deliver ordered products, failed to contact customers, and provided poor customer service.
Yah’ki Awakened LLC has an “F” rating, the lowest on BBB’s scale, due to recent unanswered complaints. The business also has received negative customer reviews.
In addition to Yah’ki Awakened LLC, which sells herbal products online, the business operates Dr. Yah’ki Health & Wellness Detoxification Institute, which is located at 2402 N. Lindbergh in Florissant.
In a March 2025 advertising review letter BBB sent to Yah’ki Awakened LLC, the BBB asked the company to substantiate claims made on the Dr. Yah’ki Health & Wellness Detoxification Institute website that Dr. Yahki Rapha Elohim is a doctor and a PhD Biochemist Natural Science. BBB was unable to confirm the credentials through a search of the Missouri Division of Professional Registration’s website.
The business told BBB it has a disclaimer on both of its websites that tells users Yah’ki Rapha Elohim is not a physician. The business said he has an honorary doctorate degree and holds a number of other credentials and certificates.
A woman from Llano, Texas, told BBB she paid Yah’ki Awakened LLC $1,200 in December 2024 for a one-hour health consultation. The woman said the business rescheduled her appointment three times and when it finally took place, it lasted just 23 minutes.
“I was supposed to have a video conference with him, but he wound up calling me while he was driving,” the woman told BBB. “He said he would follow up with me. I was supposed to get a health care plan and a list of things that I needed to do. I have not received any of these promised materials.”
After a BBB investigator contacted the business about the woman’s complaint, she said she received a partial refund of $160. The business claimed she purchased a 30-minute consultation.
The experience with Yah’ki Awakened LLC, the woman said, “was disappointing.”
A Washington, D.C., man told BBB he paid Yah’ki Awakened LLC $750 in October 2023 for a health consultation. He said he had to wait more than a year until he finally received a refund from the company.
“They gave me the run around for a long time,” the man told BBB. “They were very dismissive of me.”
Yah’ki Awakened LLC was registered with the Missouri secretary of state in March 2017. Marc A. Hickman is listed as the registered agent for the business. According to St. Louis County Court records, Hickman changed his name to Yahki Rapha Elohim in June 2023.
Hickman is also the registered agent for Yahki Rapha Elohim University, which was formed in January 2024. He also was the registered agent for six other businesses which have since also filed winding down papers with the state of Missouri – Yah’ki Awakened Detoxification Home LLC; Yah’ki Awakened Eye of the Lotus Botanical Health Club LLC; Yahki Awakened Consulting, LLC; Yahki Awakened Productions, LLC; Yahki Rapha Elohim, LLC; and Yahki Talks Enterprise, LLC.
Yah’ki Awakened LLC did not respond to a BBB letter emailed to it regarding how it plans to address its pattern of customer complaints. It did respond to two advertising review letters sent to it by BBB about claims made on its websites. In each instance, the company replied, but no changes were made to the websites.
Yah’ki Awakened LLC told BBB it is doing all it can to help its customers with problems.
“We are currently instituting a no questions asked refund policy to address any and all complaints, which are relatively small in comparison to the amount of orders we receive,” the business wrote in an email response to BBB. “We do however, experience delays in delivery of our products due to the demands but we are in constant communications with our customers and ultimately deliver paid merchandise.”
BBB offers these tips on how to safely shop for health products online:
- Research any business and its owners before paying any money. Check the company’s BBB Business Profile at BBB.org or by calling 888-996-3887.
- Before you purchase anything online you should consult your physician first.
- Read all terms and conditions before completing a purchase. Make sure to understand expected delivery dates and refund policies. Know your options in case you receive an item that was not as advertised.
- Pay by credit card whenever possible in case you need to challenge the payment.
- Check a site’s security settings. If the site is secure, its URL (web address) should start with “https://.” You also may see a picture of a small, closed lock in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
- For more information about online shopping fraud, refer to this BBB study.
