BY JAMES A. QUIRK
MIDDLETOWN — The owner of the Cabbage Rose furniture store in Fair Haven was arrested in his Leonardo home
Monday and charged with defrauding at least 83 customers nationwide of more than $290,000.
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs also filed suit Monday against William C. Neumann, 61, accusing him of violating the Consumer Fraud Act by “committing unconscionable commercial practices, making false promises and misrepresentations as well as violating furniture delivery regulations.”
Neumann was charged with theft by deception and misconduct by a corporate official. Bail was set Monday by Superior Court Judge Paul F. Chaiet at $150,000. If convicted on all the charges against him, Neumann could face 20 years in prison. He faces additional civil penalties from the state of at least $100,000.
Neumann could not be reached for comment.
His company, Cabbage Rose Ltd., sold furniture online as Chelsea Manor Unlimited and Classic House Furniture. At the latter, Neumann sold not only high-end furniture, but a special guide that for $3.95 supposedly educates a consumer on how not to make interior decorating mistakes that could cost “thousands of dollars.”
According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, from January 2004 to January 2014, complaints regarding Neumann’s failure to deliver furniture that had already been paid for poured in to the office’s Special Prosecution Bureau, the Fair Haven Police Department, and the state Division of Consumer Affairs.
In this time, Neumann received more than $290,000 in payments from 83 customers across the U.S., yet never delivered the goods that were paid for, authorities allege.
Officials with Consumer Affairs also claim Neumann violated a September 2012 consent order with the state by not paying $75,000 in civil penalties and restitution to customers he had cheated. As such, the state has petitioned that Neumann be permanently barred from engaging in any retail business in New Jersey.
“The violations (Neumann) committed against consumers will not be tolerated,” said state Attorney General Stuart Rabner in a prepared statement. “Beyond continuing deceptive practices against consumers, Neumann disregarded the terms of a 2012 settlement.”
“We will not be satisfied until consumers receive the restitution they deserve for the losses they have sustained,” said Stephen B. Nolan, the acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, in a prepared statement. “Consumers can spend thousands of dollars for furniture and they deserve the merchandise delivered as scheduled, or a refund. Merchants who don’t respect the legal rights of consumers will find out, as in this case, that they are not above the law.”
James A. Quirk: (732) 643-4215 or jquirk@app.com
