Owner of Brooklyn wedding hall ReBar pleads guilty to fraud

BROOKLYN (WABC) -- The owner of Brooklyn wedding venue pleaded guilty to grand larceny and tax fraud Thursday.

ReBar owner Jason Stevens faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

He left many engaged couples without their deposits when he abruptly closed ReBar in Williamsburg back in May.

The excited couples planning to get married were shocked to learn of the closure and searched for Stevens, who disappeared and took the deposits with him.

Eyewitness News has learned that the Attorney General's office has reached an agreement in principal with Stevens to pay more than $1 million in restitution to 73 consumers who filed complaints and provided proof of payments. Once the agreement is finalized, consumers who have not yet come forward will have 120 days to file complaints and submit proof of payment.

Additionally, over the past several weeks, the Attorney General's office called approximately 25 consumers whose checks had not yet been cashed to make sure they'd stopped payment on those checks.

ReBAr employees were also stiffed out of their last week's pay.