PORTLAND, Maine - The Maine Attorney General's Office has filed a formal complaint against a tour operator it says cheated customers out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Attorney General Janet Mills says Barry Somes, who operated several tour companies, repeatedly took advance payments for coach tours that he then canceled without returning the money.
She says her office has been getting complaints about Somes for several years. "We have filed this complaint, basically, as a last resort to get his attention and get him to come into court and own up to his responsibilities to these people, many of whom are senior citizens," Mills says.
Mills says her office has gotten 75 complaints about Somes' companies, and is still getting calls about it.
The AG's office is seeking to prevent Somes from operating a business in Maine that takes advance payments, and to order him to repay his customers. It's also looking to have Somes pay civil penalties of $10,000 or more.
A call to Somes for comment was not immediately returned.
