Computer financier denies wrongdoing

denies wrongdoing The founder of Financing Alternatives Inc. denies that he directed company practices that state attorneys claim have misled thousands of consumers nationwide, according to a Wednesday court filing.

The Virginia attorney general's office has sued George Christian and his Chesapeake computerfinancing company, seeking more than $7 million that it claims the owner collected while failing to deliver computers as promised to customers who paid for them. In his answer to the suit, filed in Chesapeake Circuit Court, Christian acknowledged that he "created the FAI business model" but disputed the state's suggestion that he controlled the company's operations and communications with customers.

Founded in 1998, FAI sold computers and flat-panel television sets on layaway plans, targeting consumers with poor credit. The company took weekly, biweekly or monthly deductions from customers' bank accounts and pledged to deliver their orders after three months of steady payments. Customers typically paid $1,871 for a desktop system and completed the purchase in a year.

At least 1,765 FAI customers had paid in full and never received their computers as of August, the suit says. Thousands more stopped paying after their shipments didn't arrive as expected and received no refunds, the state claims.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/chesapeake/dp-ches-cpu-financier-brf-0622

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Computer financier denies wrongdoing