A.G. Sues Furniture Store Operators For Fraud And Deception

Attorney General Spitzer today filed a lawsuit against an Erie County furniture store for failing to return deposits left by customers prior to its ceasing business operations.

The lawsuit, filed in Erie County Supreme Court, alleges that Leonard Hills and Vito Santasierio, owners of A.L. Hills Furniture Store in Buffalo -- otherwise known as "The Furniture Store" and "Furniture Land"-- along with the store manager, Jeffrey Spangler, engaged in fraudulent and deceptive business practices and violated consumer protection laws enacted to safeguard layaway deposits.

The Attorney General's Office received 15 complaints about A.L. Hills Furniture Store, mostly from low-income minority members who could ill afford to lose money paid for the layaway of their furniture. The store closed abruptly in November, 1998 without notice to customers and without warning to those who had left layaway deposits for merchandise.

According to the lawsuit, after A.L. Hills Furniture shut down operations, Hills and Spangler took at least half the furniture and opened up a new store, Queen City Furniture Store in Buffalo, just three blocks away. The suit further alleges that the other co-founder, Santasierio, then privately sold the remaining merchandise without delivering any furniture or offering refunds to consumers.

"This appears to be a business dispute between two partners which has, unfortunately, left consumers out in the cold," Spitzer said. "My goal is to obtain refunds for customers and to ensure that nobody else falls prey to these unscrupulous business practices."

Spitzer noted that he is asking the court to require Hills, Santasierio and Spangler, in any future business dealings, to place any consumer deposits in trust accounts to ensure their security. The Attorney General also asked the court to force Hills, Santasierio and Spangler to provide refunds to their injured customers and to pay civil penalties for each violation of the law.

The case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Dennis Rosen of the Buffalo Regional Office.

Any individual interested in filing a complaint against A.L. Hills Furniture Store is encouraged to contact the Attorney General's Office at (800) 771-7755.