NASHUA, NH -- A New Hampshire club owner pleaded guilty to violations of the state’s consumer protection act after cutting a deal with the state’s attorney general. Sean Corriveau, former manager and president of Elite Fitness Inc., is required to pay $14,000 of restitution for fraudulent credit card use and must serve a 30-day jail sentence. He also has been prohibited to run any business for the next 10 years involving prepaid memberships.
Corriveau pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors in Hillsborough County (NH) Superior Court after an agreement with New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte.
Corriveau used an unauthorized credit card to charge $14,000 worth of carpeting through Carpet Creations Inc. to outfit Powerhouse Gym, a health club that opened in 2007 but was not registered with the attorney general’s office. Corriveau failed to pay the necessary $50,000 bond with the state, which violated state law. He also accepted prepaid memberships, another violation.
This is not the first time Corriveau has encountered trouble with the law. Last year, Corriveau was evicted from the plaza where he leased space for the gym for not paying $14,000 in rent. He also was successfully sued by Michigan-based Powerhouse Gyms for illegally using the franchise name, the Nashua (NH) Telegraph reports. A federal court ruled that Corriveau had to pay Powerhouse Gyms $130,000, the newspaper reported.
Gravity Fitness Club entered the space that Powerhouse Gym vacated, but that club also closed, according to the newspaper, and was replaced by a Gold’s Gym.