COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – After our story aired about a man who was held to his contract and refused a refund for his wedding video when his bride unexpectedly died, the saga exploded on-line between the grieving widow and the corporate. We have now realized the alleged proprietor of the corporate is pending investigation by the Nevada Client Affairs Workplace.

1000’s of individuals joined the net backlash, together with former shoppers and contracted staff who declare their cash was stolen by Copper Stallion Media and the person they are saying is behind the corporate, Jesse J. Clark.

Since our story, greater than thirty {couples} and photographers throughout the nation have contacted KRDO NewsChannel 13 reporter Julia Donovan over the past week, additionally saying they misplaced cash to Copper Stallion Media or Clark. The {couples} say they by no means acquired a marriage video, and the photographers declare they by no means obtained paid.

Nicole Diaz, a bride from Massachusetts, advised us she employed a marriage photographer from an organization allegedly owned by Clark and the photographer confirmed up the day of the ceremony, however she by no means obtained a duplicate of her video.

“Yearly my marriage ceremony anniversary comes round and it is simply not the identical. You simply cannot return and recreate footage. It is irreplaceable,” Nicole Diaz advised KRDO.

“I did 9 or 10 weddings for him and so they’ve solely paid me for four or 5,” photographer Kelby Casebolt of Texas, advised us in an interview.

The Knot, the favored marriage ceremony planning web site which Justin Montney used to search out Copper Stallion, advised KRDO in an announcement on Wednesday that it just lately found the corporate’s web page on its web site was created by Jesse J. Clark, beneath a pretend title.

“This violates our Phrases of Use. As quickly as we turned conscious, we took fast motion and eliminated Copper Stallion Media from our marketplaces on The Knot and WeddingWire,” mentioned a spokesperson for the web site. “We’re conducting an intensive investigation throughout our websites to find out if there are every other companies which were created beneath false identities by people related to Copper Stallion Media and can take fast motion to take away any listings which can be discovered.”

A number of photographers who say they carried out contracted work for Copper Stallion Media despatched us copies of the checks they acquired from Copper Stallion addressed from 6671 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Suite 210.

5 addition individuals who reached out to KRDO — a mix of photographers and {couples} who say Jesse Clark ran companies that cheated them out of hundreds — inform us they filed formal reviews with the Nevada Legal professional Common’s Workplace and met its members, and officers from the Workplace of Nevada Client Affairs, concerning the scenario final September.

Shane Persaud from the Workplace of Nevada Client Affairs confirmed on Thursday to KRDO an investigation into Jesse J. Clark is pending, however would not go into element.

According to its website, the Office of Nevada Consumer Affairs “provides enforcement of the state’s consumer protection laws for consumers that live in, work in and visit Nevada.” If the workplace finds something probably prison, it is obligated handy the investigation over to the Nevada Legal professional Common’s Workplace.

The Nevada AG’s workplace wouldn’t verify whether or not its at present investigating Clark. It despatched an announcement to KRDO saying partially, “We’ve no latest complaints on Jesse Clark or his alias names, and although we don’t verify or deny the existence of investigations inside our workplace, it ought to be famous that our office is complaint driven and any suspicious activity should be reported in the form of an officially filed complaint.”

Whereas a number of the alleged victims we heard from are from Colorado, the Colorado Legal professional Common’s Workplace additionally would not inform us if it is investigating Clark, but encourage people to report suspected fraud here.

KRDO additionally realized Jesse J. Clark was prosecuted by the Massachusetts Legal professional Common in 2013 for failing to ship marriage ceremony movies promised in contracts to greater than 100 {couples}. In response to the Massachusetts AG’s Workplace, he was issued $500,000 in judgements and ordered to ship any video to the affected {couples}.

“The AG’s Workplace has not been in a position to gather the financial portion of the judgment presently,” a spokesperson advised us.

Massachusetts legal professional Nicholas Frye advised us he filed lawsuits separate from the AG on behalf of his shoppers who say they have been additionally robbed by Clark. He despatched KRDO paperwork displaying Jesse J. Clark nonetheless owes his shoppers greater than $100,000 in judgements, as nicely.

Frye believes Clark continued to do enterprise on this manner even after the 2013 lawsuit, primarily based on cellphone calls he has acquired from alleged victims everywhere in the nation.

“As quickly as the warmth will get on him in a single place, he strikes to a different place, modifications the enterprise title, and simply retains doing it,” Frye mentioned in an interview with KRDO.

Frye is the lawyer in a YouTube video posted by the Worcester Telegram and Gazette in 2013, displaying Jesse Clark in courtroom, which has gained greater than 20,000 views over time. He thinks this can be the explanation folks preserve calling him about Clark.

“Each couple months, I get a cellphone name from any person — and it has been in California, it has been in Colorado, Texas, Vegas — saying he is doing the identical factor [there],” he mentioned. “As quickly as the warmth will get on him in a single place, he strikes to a different place, modifications the enterprise title, and simply retains doing it.”

The person in our unique story, Justin Montney, misplaced his fiancée, Alexis Wyatt, in a automotive crash on Freeway 24 earlier this 12 months. Previous to that, Montney had signed a non-refundable contract with Copper Stallion Media for video companies on their marriage ceremony day, which was imagined to occur this month. Montney acknowledged the contract in an e-mail with the corporate, whereas nonetheless asking for his deposit again because of the circumstances. Copper Stallion Media defined that it could not refund the cash because of the contract, however would honor Montney’s request to credit score him for a doable marriage ceremony 10 years sooner or later.

Copper Stallion hasn’t answered our direct requests for remark by way of a number of cellphone calls and messages on-line, however the assertion beneath was posted on the corporate’s web site final week. The statement was removed within days, but it can be seen on a cached archive page.

On Might 20, 2020, our firm was topic to an online smear campaign for not refunding a consumer who died in a automotive accident. The consumer signed a non-refundable contract. Because of this, buddies, household and strangers have emailed, known as and left evaluations of our firm on social media. On-line bullying is actual. We’re in touch with native authorities to see what will be finished by way of prison prices. We’re additionally reaching out to authorized counsel to see what authorized motion we will take to acquire a judgement for damages. No firm ought to should undergo this for upholding a signed authorized doc. With that being mentioned, we’re at present now not fascinated by taking up any extra bookings. We are going to full our present contractual obligations with our booked shoppers however will now not settle for any new shoppers. In any case our present contractual obligations are accomplished, we’ll sundown Copper Stallion Media. 

Assertion written on CopperStallionMedia.com on Friday, Might 22. The assertion was later eliminated, and the web site was left clean by Might 27.

The web site was altered a number of instances over the course of the next weekend, nevertheless it returned to its unique structure with inventory photographs and movies on Tuesday earlier than turning clean on Wednesday.

By Saturday, the day that Montney and Wyatt have been as a result of be wed, Copper Stallion Media nonetheless hadn’t offered a direct remark to KRDO, however the firm’s Fb web page wrote a submit that drew criticism from hundreds of thousands of people across social media.

“After what Justin pulled with the media stunt to try to shake us down for a refund, we hope you sob and cry all day for what would have been your marriage ceremony day,” learn the submit from Copper Stallion Media’s Fb web page, which was deleted quickly after, as nicely.

After Copper Stallion Media’s overview pages on Yelp and The Knot acquired backlash from Justin’s buddies and different customers, the corporate bought the area justinmontney.com, filling it with doctored footage from Montney’s Fb web page, screenshots of exchanges, and a private message to Montney saying that the corporate used his $1,800 to pay for the web site for 2 years. The web site additionally options indignant voicemails, claiming they’re from Justin. Justin advised KRDO that’s not his voice.

Copper Stallion Media changed its homepage Saturday to a message saying it bought the domain and intended to keep posting content on there.

WARNING: Express language is current in these screenshots, viewer discretion is suggested.

“Welcome to the interwebs you silly s***” was the ultimate message on the web site earlier than a hyperlink to an unrelated information story. The location was scrubbed on Monday, then returned Tuesday morning earlier than being changed with a YouTube video on Wednesday.

As of Thursday, the Copper Stallion Media web site is clean, however justinmontney.com returned to the content material proven above.

Montney advised KRDO Thursday he is contemplating authorized motion in opposition to Clark for what he perceives to be harassment.