The operators of a former Kennesaw-based travel company are facing criminal charges in California in connection with a cancelled high school band trip to Japan.
Bradley Matheson, 52, and Margaret Matheson, 43, together operating as Harmony International, were charged with 93 felony counts and 2 misdemeanor counts, including embezzlement, failing to maintain passenger funds in a trust account, and failing to provide refunds, according to a joint statement by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan.
The total loss to the high school band students and their families was $99,000, and 32 victims were identified in the indictment, the statement said.
A lawyer for the company told the AJC in May that no Georgia families were affected.
Harmony International, also known as MFPI Group, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy May 17. It estimated assets of no more than $50,000, but liabilities of from $1 million to $10 million, court records signed by Bradley Matheson show.
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