Carolina Furniture ripoff Highpoint North Carolina

After seeing that the Florida AG filed suit against Carolina Furniture, I decided to call the NY AG. They said they will investigate the problem. I encourage all residents in Ny that were duped by Privette to file a complaint with the NY AG. The number to call is (800) 771-7755. You will have to go through a menu but if you hit zero, you can speak to a live contact.

The Brunswick County district attorney's office has dropped numerous charges of obtaining property under false pretenses against a Calabash furniture salesman.

But the FBI is still investigating Henry Privette, and federal charges could be filed by the U.S. attorney's office.

According to court documents, the charges against Privette, owner of Carolina Furniture Inc., were dismissed because the case is under federal jurisdiction.

He is not associated with Carolina Furniture of Loris.

Privette is accused of selling furniture over the Internet but not delivering it.

While more than 200 complaints have been filed against Privette nationwide, according to the Sheriff's Office, none of those originated from Brunswick County, according to court documents.

Privette also faces several active lawsuits for not delivering furniture.

"We've been inundated with complaints," Brunswick Sheriff Ronald Hewett said. "In the meantime, the U.S. government has seized his files. The U.S. attorney is reviewing the case and deciding whether to charge federally."

The charges filed against Privette in January were the third time he was charged with the same offense.

He was arrested by the Sheriff's Office in December and was released on bond.

Privette was also charged with 11 counts of breach of trust in 1999 for not delivering furniture.

He operated two furniture stores, Carolina Furniture and Henry Ray Furniture Exports, from 3120 Waccamaw Blvd. in Myrtle Beach and was banned from selling furniture in South Carolina again.

I got a call from an FBI agent in North Carolina. He told me that any customers who were defrauded should send their paperwork to the North Carolina Attorney General. Sending it to the US Postal inspector in Chicago is a waste of time. They forward it to an Postal Inspector in NC who is assisting the FBI agent.

Here are some of the details.

There are now over 400 cases against Privette.

Privette has nothing in his name so the FBI is going after him criminally. It is true he might declare bankruptcy to avoid paying the customers.

Some states including Massachusetts and Florida have filed suit.

North Carolina does not want to spend the money to bring 400 customers to NC to testify. It would be more expensive than the amount Privette owes the customers. It will be a similar situation if Florida, Massachusetts and NY go after him. They will have to spend money to get this guy. The FBI has the resources to bring all customers together.

The FBI is contacting customers from January 2002 to January 2003 in blocks of 50. They then will be given an email address where they sign up and receive a weekly update from the FBI. The FBI agent asked that I do not give out that specific address because he wants it set up for Carolina Furniture issues only.

At some point, each customer will be called by a local FBI agent to give more detail.

If you received a letter from the North Carolina AG regarding this matter, the FBI agent's name was CC'd on the bottom.

This matter will take a while to get into the courts because they want to make sure he doesn't walk on a technicality. The agent found a case dating back to 1991 and is investigating every aspect of the case and what happened in South Carolina.

I hope this helps. Be diligent. It took me awhile to track down who is handling the case. I don't want to reveal his name on the web in case Mr. Privette is watching. Just look at your letter from the NC AG. One of the people on the bottom will contact you.