Walpole couple faces criminal charges in connection with home improvement businesses

Caitlin Vittum and her husband, Christopher Vittum, of Walpole, were found liable earlier this year in a civil case alleging they took money from customers for work they did not complete.

Additional criminal charges were recently filed against one of the owners of three local home improvement companies that were found liable in a civil case for financial damages to customers. The other owner was criminally charged last year.

Caitlin Vittum, 35, was charged Dec. 9 with “check kiting,” which involves intentionally writing a check for more than the balance in a bank account and then writing a check from a another account in another bank, too. with insufficient funds, the second check being used to cover the non-existent funds in the first account. It’s a tactic frequently used 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 liable earlier this year in a civil case alleging they took money from customers for work they did not complete.

Christopher Vittum, 39, already faces separate criminal charges in a Hillsborough County court for alleged thefts linked to the couple’s construction businesses.

Court documents allege that Caitlin Vittum used accounts at Citizens Bank, Savings Bank of Walpole and Mascoma Bank to falsely inflate the balances in each of those accounts, according to the court document, which says the accounts were opened on behalf of NEC Construction 603 LLC, and CRV Construction and Tiny Homes LLC, two of the companies 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 from $5,000 to more than $8,600, according to the document.

The charges against Caitlin Vittum are the latest in a wave of lawsuits against the couple. They agreed to a motion in June 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 complete renovations to their home for which they had been paid and contractually agreed to.

The court found them liable in September and ordered them to repay more than $151,000 they owed 14 former clients, according to court documents.

The state’s offering of evidence in the case says 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 company in Richmond; CRV Construction & Tiny Homes LLC, a home construction company in Walpole; and Utopia Construction and Designs, an unregistered company.

In addition to reimbursing their customers, the Vittums will have to pay $130,000 in civil penalties to the state, or $10,000 for each of 13 violations of the Consumer Protection Act, a law that protects consumers from unfair practices or misleading companies. They will also owe the state $60,000 in legal fees, according to court documents.

Caitlin Vittum’s criminal trial is expected to begin 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 [email protected].

These articles are shared by Granite State News Collaborative partners. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.