AG wins restitution for couples stiffed by wedding venue

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office says the owner of a now-closed wedding venue must pay over $27,000 in restitution to nine couples who had their weddings canceled or didn’t receive promised services.

The attorney general’s office sued last year to hold Gabriella Farm owner Nicolle Thompson liable for the losses. The couples were from Bullitt, Jefferson and Meade counties. Thompson was ordered by a Hardin County Circuit Court judge to pay an additional $20,000 in civil penalties.

A statement from the attorney general’s office says Thompson took payments from couples and then ceased communications with them. Attorney General Andy Beshear says the couples were “were conned out of not only their money, but their joyful wedding day memories.”