State alleges Bloomfield travel company took more than $1 million from 230 customers without delivering travel promises
Last October, hundreds of travelers who pre-paid for vacation tours were left stranded -- some in the middle of trips in foreign countries -- when the company they trusted with their travel arrangements shut its doors without notice.
And now the state has filed suit against a pair of brothers who allegedly accepted more than $1 million from 230 customers, but didn't deliver what they promised.
The brothers, Robert Paris, 59, of Greenwich, Ct., and Thomas Paris, 61, of New York City, continued to sell travel packages for Bloomfield-based Crown Travel Services, also known as Club ABC Tours and ABC Destinations, even though the companies were insolvent and were months behind in paying their bills, alleged the suit, which was filed Tuesday in Essex County Superior Court by Acting Attorney General John Hoffman and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
“The two brothers who owned and operated these travel companies allegedly kept their business afloat by using money from new customers, to pay for trips booked by previous customers," Hoffman said. "When this scheme inevitably fell apart, hundreds of customers lost more than $1 million.”
Back in October, The Star-Ledger interviewed travelers who were stuck overseas with no hotel reservations or airline tickets.
Jane Riesel of Fort Lee paid Club ABC more than $6,000 for a 10-day tour of Italy. She departed the day after the company shut down. Her first two days of travel were fine, but then she learned the rest of her trip wasn't booked or paid for.
"They knew that we were going to be stranded and they let us leave," Riesel said of the Paris brothers at the time.
The state alleges the Paris brothers committed multiple violations of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act and Advertising Regulations, and it's asking that the brothers be compelled to give up all funds and property acquired through the alleged violations and to refund money.
“These victims deserve protection," Hoffman said. "The State will use its full authority in an effort to recover the money they lost.”
Under the Consumer Fraud Act, a first violation is subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 and subsequent violations are subject to civil penalties of up to $20,000. Each deceptive practice or advertisement is considered a separate violation of the Consumer Fraud Act.