Couples To Receive Full Restitution For Deposits After Fishtown Wedding Venue Unexpectedly Closes

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday that couples will receive full restitution for their deposits after a Fishtown wedding venue unexpectedly closed in April.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro said four couples will receive their deposits totaling $20,250 after Christos Aivazoglou entered into a settlement on behalf of Skybox Events. The wedding venue closed in April after it was operating illegally on an expired city permit.

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"Skybox accepted deposits and reservations from these Pennsylvania consumers - even though the business was operating illegally," Shapiro said in a statement. "When the venue was shut down, couples lost their deposit and were left scrambling to find a new wedding location. My Office's Bureau of Consumer Protection stepped in to secure full restitution for these couples, and I'm committed to making sure no company rips off Pennsylvanians and gets away with it."

Couple Sara Appleby and Joe Ross told CBS3 earlier this month that they were left scrambling when their wedding coordinator revealed their dream day had unraveled just three weeks out from their May 19 nuptials.

"She told us that there was a zoning issue and they couldn't hold events anymore," said Appleby. "Of course we found out since then that it had been going on for a while."

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Skybox, which was located on the 2400 block of East York Street, had a Special Assembly and Occupancy License, but it expired nearly three years ago in August 2015. A cease-operations order was issued after the space was cited by officials for violating the Philadelphia Code and the facility shut down in April.