Wedding Planner Rips Off San Francisco Couple

SAN FRANCISCO, July, 20, 2007 - KGO (KGO) -- It's so heartbreaking. A San Francisco couple thought they were doing everything right, but they started their lives together without a huge chunk of cash, and seven on your side is still investigating.

It was a match made in this hair salon. Liza grew up helping her parents run it. Rex came in for haircuts. One day he asked her out.

Liza Quiambao: After that we found out we both like basketball and he'd invite me to the Warrior games all the time.

Rex Palarca: That was my catch.''

They shared games and adventures. Then on a Caribbean cruise, Liza opened the safe in their room.

Rex Palarca: "There was a ring and a note and it said will you marry me?"

A storybook romance that is, until they hired the wedding planner.

Rochon Perry of Red Licorice Studios in San Francisco came highly recommended by a hair salon client. She took a deposit of $12, 000 dollars to plan a Hawaiian wedding.

Rex Palarca: "At first I was a little worried about giving someone $12,000."

It was nearly half their wedding budget, but in a contract, Rochon agreed to book everything from the engagement party to the wedding reception. Rochon never said what her total fee would be.

She had never planned a wedding before, but she seemed impressive owning several small businesses, managing publicity for authors, trade shows and foundations.

She was treasurer for a San Francisco cultural group, but months went by and Rochon didn't make a single wedding plan.

Liza Quiambao: We were flipping out like what? We didn't order anything yet, there was no flowers bought, nothing made, nothing signed with any vendors."

Just $12,000 dollars gone; they wanted it back.

Liza Quiambao: "Rochon Perry was in the Bahamas."

But Rochon returned and agreed to refund most of the money. She even gave them an IOU, and slid this check under their door.

That problem? That check bounced.

Rex Palarca: "I can't believe this is happening to us."

Months passed. Rex and Liza filed a lawsuit charging fraud, and a complaint with the district attorney's office.

They also called 7 on your side. We called Rochon several times -- no response. We went to the suite' she lists as her office and it turned out to be a drop box at a postal store.

We called Rochon's associates for this story, Rochon suddenly called us and once again she said she'd refund the couple's money. She also declined to appear on camera.

Last month, Rochon gave Rex and Liza two checks for about $6,000 dollars each with instructions to cash them one at a time.

Liza Quiambao: "Wow we got our money back and like I can't believe it."

But guess what? Rex took the checks to the bank and the checks were no good either. Rex kept going back to the bank.

Rex: "There's zero cash, zero funds in there.''

With the wedding day coming up. Rex and Liza created a web site and planned it themselves. But with half their budget gone, they had to settle for less.

Liza Quiambao: "Our guest list was about 200. So yeah we cut it back to 40 guests.''

Less flowers, less food; they spent less for the whole wedding than they paid Rochon.

This wasn't the first trouble for Rochon. District Attorney investigator Don Canady told us the D.A. filed a bad check complaint against her in 2002.

She paid restitution to a merchant, avoiding prosecution. Three years later a trade show company filed this lawsuit saying Rochon illegally stopped payment on a check for money she owed them.

The court ordered her to pay more than $7,000 dollars in damages and penalties.

Rex and Liza set off for Hawaii without the $12,000 thousand dollars, but they wouldn't let it ruin their big day.

Liza Quiambao: "We're getting married and we want to be happy and my goal in life is for happiness."

It's always best to look deeper into the backgrounds of people you give cash to. Meanwhile ABC7 got San Francisco police and the District Attorney's Office looking into this case. Rex and Liza said after all the grief, their wedding was wonderful, but they haven't given up on getting their money back and neither has 7 on your side.

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