N.C. Wedding Venue Owner Arrested After Police Say He Defrauded Engaged Couples Out of Thousands of Dollars

A wedding venue owner in North Carolina has been arrested after police say he defrauded several engaged couples out of “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The Union County Sheriff’s Office (USCO) said in a social media post on Wednesday, Jan. 29 that Jason Lottmann — the 41-year-old owner of local wedding venue Champagne Manor, located in Monroe, N.C. — was arrested on “numerous felony charges” in connection with an alleged fraud scheme.

Detectives said they began investigating “multiple reports” of “fraud” from couples who said they had paid the venue “between $40,000 and $50,000” for “full-service wedding packages,” which included catering and other wedding service essentials. However, days before the wedding, they told police they would receive “calls from vendors demanding payment for services they assumed were covered.”

“When they contacted Lottmann, they learned he had taken their money and failed to book or pay for any services, leaving them in a financial crisis while trying to salvage their wedding days,” police claimed on social media.

Detectives said that Lottman not only deceived engaged couples, but investors in the wedding venue as well in a scheme they dubbed, the “Partner Program.” In this alleged scheme, police said Lottman would solicit “large sums” of money “under the pretense of funding venue upgrades.”

“He promised significant returns but failed to disclose that the property was already in foreclosure, making repayment impossible,” police said.

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The detectives said they discovered the Champagne Manor owner was taking “deposits” and “selling items purchased with stolen funds on Facebook Marketplace, so they decided to set up a sting to catch Lottman.

Detectives agreed to meet him at “a local storage facility” while “under the guise of purchasing fraudulently obtained items.” While there, they were able to take him into custody.

The USCO said Lottman was being held at the Union County Detention Center under a $1 million secured bond. Police noted that “additional criminal charges are likely.” Lottman’s next court date is set for Feb. 27.

Prior to Lottman’s arrest, one man, Mark Yarotskiy, claimed to WCNC-TV earlier this month that he lost thousands of dollars after booking Champagne Manor as a venue. “He was lying to our face,” he told the outlet at the time. “No one is able to reach him anymore. We are out of money and time.”

Police asked that anyone who believes they may have been defrauded by Lottman or has information on this case, contact the UCSO Main Office at (704) 283-3789.