FBI Seizes Wedding Videographer’s Hard Drives, Leaving Couples Without Footage
At least 52 couples fear they may never see their wedding photos after the FBI seized a popular videographer’s hard drives months ago.
Jeremy Merkel, who works professionally under his middle name, Jeremy Scott, built a strong reputation as a wedding videographer for clients across the U.S. TheKnot.com reportedly recognized his video company with its “Best of Weddings” award in 2021 and 2022, an annual recognition of top wedding vendors nationwide.
But now dozens of brides are concerned they may never receive footage from their ceremonies after it emerged that federal investigators have been holding his hard drives for months, according to several local reports.
21 News reports that Merkel lived and worked out of a home on Green Glen Drive in Boardman, Ohio, where he created content for couples when the FBI raided that property in February. Multiple agents from the FBI and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations were seen removing items on February 19, including what appeared to be a Mac computer. An FBI spokesperson told 21 News the action was tied to a search warrant and described it as “court-authorized law enforcement activity.”
Nearly seven months later, no charges have been filed against Merkel, and the FBI investigation is still ongoing.
Following the raid, Merkel’s social media accounts went offline in late July, and his business was marked on Google as “permanently closed.” In early August, the wedding videographer filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, listing at least 52 customers who paid thousands of dollars but never received their content because “work could not be completed due to seizure of Debtor equipment” by the FBI.
The filing shows customers came not only from Ohio and Pennsylvania but also from West Virginia, Illinois, and New York. It states Merkel’s “business [was] halted by Federal investigation” after federal authorities seized his computers and business hard drives.
Merkel says he does not know when, or if, these items will be returned, and therefore cannot complete editing the wedding videos. He states that he hopes to finish the projects once his hard drives are back in his possession.
The filing reads: “No estimate on when or if will be returned to Debtor who would like to finalize his jobs once he has possession of his hard drives again.”
Merkel did not respond to the news outlet’s request for comment, and his bankruptcy attorney said they could not discuss matters still in court.
One couple, Alyssa and Dan Buchholz of Philadelphia, tells WTAE-TV that they paid Jeremy Scott Films nearly $6,000 for their November 2024 wedding in Pittsburgh but have not received their video since the raid. The pair believes their long-form wedding film is now in the FBI’s hands, and they may never get to see it.
“It was the most important day of our life, and part of you refuses to believe that this is going to be the end result,” Alyssa tells WTAE-TV.
Dan adds: “I think we’re at that point now of getting comfortable with the fact that we may never see the footage again and definitely won’t be getting any money back.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
