‘My Amazon Empire’ coaching business goes into liquidation amid client complaints and court ruling

My Amazon Empire, an online coaching business that sold courses and hands-on setup services for dropshipping and Amazon storefronts, entered liquidation on Sept. 9 after multiple clients told the Daily Mail they were left without promised returns or refunds and the company’s online presence was deleted.

Clients and court records allege the company’s founder, Emma Cunningham, who was previously profiled for rapid e-commerce success, stopped responding to students and contractors in the spring as the business began to falter. Several former customers said they paid thousands of dollars for three-month courses or bespoke store set-ups and later encountered prolonged communication delays, undelivered websites and stalled refunds.

Cunningham, who has previously told media she built multimillion-dollar sales in a short period and launched My Amazon Empire in early 2022, now appears to have removed her Instagram account and the company website. According to documents seen by the Daily Mail, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) records showed the business’s default risk was "acceptable" until April, then deteriorated to "impaired" from May, indicating a high vulnerability to default, and by Sept. 10 the company had defaulted.

Multiple clients interviewed by the Daily Mail said problems began in April and accelerated as communication slowed. One pair, identified only as Jane and Conner, said they paid an initial $15,000 in start-up costs for Cunningham’s team to build a niche Shopify store, but the site never went live and they received no income. They said their final call with Cunningham was in late April and that she did not respond after promising the store would be ready.

Others told investigators they paid more substantial sums. The Daily Mail reported that some people claimed to have paid up to $70,000 in total to work with Cunningham. One client said he paid $60,000 and pursued the matter in court; a settlement was reached at the first hearing but, the client said, Cunningham failed to pay within the allotted time and did not appear when he later returned to enforce the agreement. He was subsequently awarded a summary judgment in his favor.

Several former students described a promotional "money-back guarantee" tied to reaching a $20,000 turnover within the course period. Those clients said their stores did not generate that level of revenue and that refunds were not forthcoming. Cunningham told the Daily Mail in earlier reporting that refunds had been delayed and were issued on Aug. 1, and that an unspecified personal catastrophe had caused setbacks. Those who reported missing refunds said they had not received the funds as of Aug. 7, when the earlier investigation was published.

Individual accounts detail varied experiences. One woman identified as Chloe said she paid $2,500 monthly for three months and that her store never launched. She said communication with Cunningham was slow and that, after repeated follow-ups, she was told by Cunningham in July that a refund had been issued but that no funds had arrived. Another student, Amanda, said she paid a $7,500 course fee, spent an additional $1,500 on advertising and only made a few hundred dollars from the project; she said her access to course materials had been cut off during the third month and that she was later told a refund had been processed on July 29 but received no receipt.

A third client, identified as Lauren, said she successfully recovered roughly 84% of what she paid after opening a formal dispute and providing documentation of unmet deliverables; she received $6,259.48 on July 28 and said the repayment followed weeks of back-and-forth and compilation of screenshots, emails and timelines.

Cunningham’s business practices drew scrutiny as more clients came forward after the initial report. In response to questions about unpaid staff, one former employee said she was owed $11,121 for work between January and May 2025. Cunningham told the Daily Mail that outstanding payments to staff would be resolved after client refunds were settled.

Industry and consumer-advice voices urged caution for people investing in online business courses. Helen Baker, a Brisbane financial adviser and founder of On Your Own Two Feet, said prospective buyers should clarify the purpose of a course, research the person or company offering it and understand ongoing costs such as shipping and currency fees. She recommended checking the fine print on guarantees and paying by credit card where possible so banks can flag potential problems.

Dropshipping, the model taught by many online coaches, involves selling products that are stocked and shipped by third parties, allowing sellers to operate without holding inventory. Financial advisers note it can require more time, capital and operational attention than some promotional materials imply, and success is not guaranteed.

My Amazon Empire’s liquidation follows a period of deteriorating financial indicators and an outflow of dissatisfied customers describing missed deadlines, inoperable stores and delayed or unfulfilled refunds. Cunningham, who now lives in Dubai according to earlier reporting, was contacted for comment about the company’s liquidation. Several clients and a former worker provided their accounts to the Daily Mail, which published the initial investigation.

ASIC records and court documents show the company’s risk profile shifted in the months before the Sept. 9 liquidation, and at least one client secured a court judgment for unpaid sums. As the business enters liquidation, affected clients may pursue claims through the appropriate legal and dispute-resolution channels for unpaid refunds and services that were not delivered as contracted.

Names of some clients have been changed in reporting to protect identities.