Judge puts hold on Atkinson photographers' real estate

From the Eagle Tribune

Judge puts hold on photographers' real estate

By Jarret Bencks jbencks@eagletribune.com

BRENTWOOD, N.H. — An Atkinson couple facing litigation for allegedly breaking wedding photography contracts have had their real estate holdings temporarily frozen.

Michael and Darlene Perrotta face criminal and civil charges from state prosecutors for allegedly agreeing to photograph and produce albums for nearly 200 newlyweds — and getting paid for it — but never delivering.

The attorney general's office recently filed a petition seeking a $250,000 attachment to the Perrottas' assets to be added to the civil case, which seeks financial damages on behalf of the 178 complainants who allege they never got what they paid for.

Attorneys for the Perrottas and the state appeared in Rockingham County Superior Court yesterday, where a hearing was scheduled for the petition.

The hearing was continued for 45 days, but Judge John Lewis ordered a freeze on all the Perrottas' real estate assets after learning a property they owned was sold last month, days after the motion to attach was filed.

A parcel of land with a partially built home was sold June 4, after the petition to attach was served to the Perrottas, Assistant Attorney General Karen Gorham said.

After paying off the lien on the property, the Perrottas were left with $71,000 in profit, defense attorney Paul Pappas said. Of that, $55,000 was placed in an escrow account and the Perrottas kept the rest, the defense attorney said.

Lewis ordered the money in the escrow account to remain there, and for 27 Meditation Lane in Atkinson — the Perrottas' home — not be sold without permission of the court.

The orders are in effect until the hearing takes place. It has not yet been scheduled.

The Perrottas did not appear in court yesterday.

Along with the civil case, the Perrottas both face three charges of violating the Consumer Protection Act. They await trial on those charges.