ATTORNEY GENERAL HERRING SECURES JUDGMENT AGAINST VIRGINIA BEACH-BASED SEA-THRU WINDOWS FOR DEFRAUDING HOMEOWNERS

~ Court orders nearly $150,000 in restitution to more than 60 customers after Attorney General Herring's Consumer Protection Section sued over illegal business practices and to get restitution for Virginians who had their money taken by Sea-Thru ~

VIRGINIA BEACH (January 10, 2017) -Attorney General Mark R. Herring has secured a permanent injunction and restitution order against Sea-Thru Windows, Inc., a Virginia Beach-based window seller and installer, and its President and sole owner, Jeffery C. Pesich, for taking tens of thousands of dollars of customers' money in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The court order bars further violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, orders nearly $150,000 in restitution to sixty-four identified customers, and imposes fines and attorney's fees totaling $110,000. In July, Attorney General Herring's Consumer Protection Section filed suit against Sea-Thru Windows and Pesich seeking restitution for homeowners whose money was taken without work being completed, as well as for homeowners whose supposed "lifetime warranty" was not honored by Sea-Thru.

"Dozens of Virginians paid Sea-Thru and Mr. Pesich hundreds or thousands of dollars for home improvement work, only to see their money disappear without getting the work they were promised," said Attorney General Herring. "Those who actually received the work they were promised often saw their warranties turn into meaningless words when Sea-Thru and Pesich failed to honor the agreement. I'm glad we were able to secure this court order for restitution, and we will now do everything we can to help these Virginians get back what they are owed." 

Sea-Thru Windows was a licensed contractor selling windows and window installations to Virginia homeowners, businesses, and houses of worship out of offices in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Midlothian. The Virginia Board for Contractors revoked Sea-Thru's contractor's license in March 2017 in part for failing to complete promised work and for failing to comply with the terms of its own contracts with homeowners. 

The default judgment order, entered by Virginia Beach Circuit Court Judge Stephen Mahan, finds that:

• "From 2015 to 2017, Sea-Thru and Mr. Pesich engaged in a pattern of improper or dishonest conduct by failing to perform window installations. During this time, they repeatedly accepted customer down payments for window installations and then failed to start or complete the contracted-for work. Nor did they provide any customer refunds, despite customers' repeated requests."
• "Sea-Thru and Mr. Pesich lied about why work never commenced. They blamed manufacturing delays, inclement weather, equipment failures, and employee illnesses."
• "Sea-Thru and Mr. Pesich also engaged in a pattern of improper or dishonest conduct in failing to honor customers' warranty claims. Sea-Thru provided customers with lifetime warranties for its windows, guaranteeing them to be free from defects for the life of the home. However, Defendants failed to honor valid warranty claims when customers presented them."

Attorney General Herring's Consumer Protection Section will now move forward with efforts to collect the judgment on behalf of the identified customers who were harmed by Sea-Thru.

The Commonwealth has been represented in this matter by Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Ward in Attorney General Herring's Consumer Protection Section.  During Attorney General Herring's administration, the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section has undergone a significant reorganization and expansion and recovered more than $234 million in relief for consumers and payments from violators.

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