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Seven Maui residents have been awarded $171,261 in restitution to be paid from the bankruptcy estate of a Maui business owner who sold them home construction materials but allegedly frustrated attempts by the customers to obtain refunds.
The Office of Consumer Protection at the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs announced the restitution to be made from the bankruptcy estate of Mary Virginia Parsons, former owner of now-defunct Aloha Package Homes LLC.
The restitution deal was approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge overseeing bankruptcy cases of Parsons and Aloha Package Homes.
DCCA claims that Parsons sold the seven customers prepackaged homes then failed to complete their contracts, and that the customers had problems obtaining refunds.
The state agency said Parsons and her company engaged in unfair and deceptive acts violating several state consumer protection statutes, including improperly claiming that the company had to agree to a cancellation and demanding that customers pay damages for breaching their contract by cancelling their orders.
DCCA also said it the state was awarded $24,000 in civil fines and penalties along with $9,286 in attorneys’ fees and other costs.
