Dozens of jilted engaged couples vowed Sunday to attend every court appearance for a Brooklyn restaurant owner, who closed his catering hall reBar with no notice — allegedly running off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments and deposits.
The group, who met at a Boerum Hill restaurant, compared notes and said they’ve collected data on about 70 couples, whose collective loss totals about $500,000, they said.
The missing funds includes deposits, and in some cases, full payments for dream weddings.
Jason Stevens, who was arrested last week, is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday.
The victims also said they plan to put pressure on Brooklyn and state prosecutors to pursue charges against Stevens, if he doesn’t cough up their wedding money.
The restaurant owner was busted and charged with grand larceny and several fraud counts, all related to nonpayment of taxes, authorities said.
Stevens abruptly closed down reBar on May 9, posting a sign in the window: “reBar is closed and bankrupt. DO NOT ENTER.”
It’s believed up to 200 couples had booked wedding receptions at the event space for as far out as 2016, officials said.
Additional reporting by David K. Li.