Additional criminal charges were recently filed against one of the owners of three local home renovation businesses that were found responsible in a civil case for financial damages to customers. The other owner was criminally charged last year.
Caitlin Vittum, 35, was indicted Dec. 9 on charges of “check kiting,” which involves intentionally writing a check for a value greater than the balance from an account in one bank, then writing a check from another account in another bank, also with non-sufficient funds, with the second check serving to cover the non-existent funds from the first account. It’s a tactic frequently employed by people who are bankrupt, temporarily unemployed, or trying to keep a small business or startup afloat, according to a document written by Keene Police Detective Steven LaMears and filed in Cheshire County Superior Court.
Caitlin Vittum and her husband, Christopher Vittum, of Walpole, were found responsible earlier this year in a civil case that alleged they took money from customers for work they didn’t complete.
Christopher Vittum, 39, already faces separate criminal charges in a Hillsborough County court for alleged thefts related to the couple’s construction businesses.
Court documents allege Caitlin Vittum used accounts at Citizens Bank, Savings Bank of Walpole and Mascoma Bank to falsely inflate balances in each of those accounts, according to the court document, which said the accounts were opened in the name of NEC Construction 603 LLC, and CRV Construction and Tiny Homes LLC, two of the businesses owned by the Vittums.
Between Aug. 11 and 15, 2022, Mascoma Bank reported five returned checks from NEC Construction 603’s Citizens Bank and Savings Bank of Walpole accounts, LaMears wrote. The checks were made out to CRV Construction and Tiny Homes and ranged in amounts from $5,000 to more than $8,600, according to the document.
The charges against Caitlin Vittum are the latest in a flurry of legal action against the couple. They agreed in June to a motion temporarily barring them from operating a construction business in New Hampshire, according to court documents. This fall, the court extended that ban to permanently prohibit them from doing so.
In a civil case, the couple was accused of failing to provide home renovations they were paid for and had contractually agreed to.
The court found them responsible in September and ordered them to refund more than $151,000 they owe to 14 former customers, according to court documents.
The state’s offer of proof in the case said the couple failed to refund any of the 14 customers who formally filed consumer complaints, and repeatedly changed their business name and phone number.
According to the original complaint, the Vittums operated three companies: NEC Construction 603 LLC, a home construction business in Richmond; CRV Construction & Tiny Homes LLC, a home construction business in Walpole; and Utopia Construction and Designs, an unregistered business.
In addition to refunding their customers, the Vittums will have to pay $130,000 in civil penalties to the state — $10,000 for each of 13 violations of the Consumer Protection Act, a law that protects consumers from unfair or deceptive practices by businesses. They’ll also owe the state $60,000 in legal fees, according to court documents.
Caitlin Vittum’s criminal trial is scheduled to start next month, according to court documents. Christopher Vittum’s trial is scheduled for February.
The Vittums were not represented by an attorney in the civil case. Neither Caitlin Vittum nor her attorney could be reached Friday for comment on the new charges.
Abigail Ham can be reached at 603-355 8554 or aham@keenesentinel.com.
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