CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A fourth couple is coming forward with accusations that a wedding videographer did not show up for the job she was paid to do.
Each couple says the nightmare situation started last January at Bridalrama at the Duke Energy Center.
Megan Lalley and her now husband Ethan are the latest to claim Casey Avery Modern Weddings never showed up on their big day despite being paid.
It was Aug. 5 when the high school sweethearts were set to say “I do.”
Just moments before they exchanged the ceremonial words, Lalley says she found out her videographer never arrived.
“Everyone was very cautious with me like, ‘hey just wanted to let you know, the photographer we hired was a scam artist,” Lalley recalls.
She and her mom, April Wellbaum, met Casey Avery back in January during Bridalrama.
Wellbaum says she paid the first check to Avery, but the videographer asked her to resend the second check with a minor change.
“I made the check out to Casey Avery Wedding Photography,” Wellbaum explains. “Two weeks later, [Avery] sent it back and said, ‘hey, I got married, I can’t deposit a check under that name with the bank account. Can you send me another check? Just make it out to ‘wedding photography.’”
Wellbaum says she wrote a third check for the final payment.
“[Avery] immediately responded, ‘thank you, you’re paid in full. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to shoot your wedding,’” Wellbaum explained.
The mother of the bride says she reached out to Avery numerous times, but never got a response until the week of the wedding.
Avery asked Wellbaum to fill out a questionnaire that she says she had already done.
Wellbaum was in for a rude awakening the night before her daughter’s wedding.
“We’re walking into the rehearsal dinner, and I get an email from her that says, ‘your second email was late so in order for me to shoot your wedding tomorrow, I need an additional $375.00 for a late fee,” Wellbaum recalls. “I said, ‘you’re trying to extort more money and you’re not even going to show up.’ I said, ‘you think I’m going to give you more money because I’m desperate for a photographer? I will ruin you.’”
Avery never showed up for the wedding, according to Wellbaum.
She is now out nearly $1,700.
Wellbaum says she called Fifth Third to try and get her money back, but the bank won’t consider the money fraud because she authorized the transactions.
She is not the only person claiming they lost money to Avery.
Wellbaum says she filed a police report with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, there are also reports filed with the Cincinnati Police Department, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and the Cold Spring Police Department.
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