Defunct Wedding Photo Studio Must Pay $800,000 to Customers

A wedding photography studio that suddenly closed and refused to offer refunds to hundreds of clients has been ordered to pay over $800,000 in restitution to customers.

In a legal settlement, wedding photography studio Glasser Images’ owner Jack Glasser and his former employee Jace Schacher are also banned from owning or operating a photography business.

Glasser Images based in Bismark, North Dakota, abruptly closed its doors in October 2021 — leaving hundreds of couples without the promised photos of their big day or even refunds.

The unexpected closure also meant an estimated sixty employees and sub-contractors were laid off.

After receiving 540 complaints about the photography studio alleging claims totaling $1.4 million, the North Dakota Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against Glasser Images in May.

The complaint alleged that the company had defrauded consumers and subcontractors.

The suit also claimed that Glasser and Schacher wrongfully used company funds to finance their extravagant “lifestyle of high-end dining, travel, and luxury vehicles.”

Banned from Photography

KFYR-TV reports that Glasser Images settled its lawsuit with the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office on Thursday.

As part of the agreement, Jack Glasser and Schacher are banned from owning or operating a photography business in the state of North Dakota for at least 15 years.

They are also required to pay $807,188 in restitution to customers and subcontractors they worked with as well as a $30,000 civil penalty.

Glasser and Schacher each filed for bankruptcy last August. The settlement does not allow these penalties to be included in the bankruptcies.

‘They Simply Could Not Continue’

According to Glasser’s attorney Tim O’Keeffe, he was forced to close down the wedding photography studio due to the pandemic.

“As a young man, Jack Glasser started a business in Bismarck, employed many good people, served thousands of customers, and was successful for more than a decade and a half,” O’Keeffe says in a statement to KFYR-TV.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic happened, and without the ability to hold wedding gatherings, the photography business quickly spiraled downward. They simply could not continue.

“Since closing the doors, Jack and Jace have made extraordinary efforts to distribute the photography and videos to their valued clients.

“They sincerely hope this settlement agreement brings much-needed closure.”

In the original lawsuit, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley claimed Glasser Images falsely blamed their closure on the pandemic.

Wrigley alleged that Glasser and Schacher had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the company’s money on personal expenses for their luxurious lifestyle while seeking loans to keep the business afloat.


Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

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