Troubleshooters: Criminal charges filed against Main Line furniture store owner

MALVERN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Criminal charges have been filed against the owner of an interior design and furniture company on the Main Line.

This comes after an Action News Troubleshooters investigation led by our Nydia Han who talked to consumers and East Whiteland Township police.

The Troubleshooters began investigating after multiple consumers reached out to us about M. Kaplan Interiors, a husband and wife team with a storefront on Lancaster Avenue in Malvern, Chester County.

On Thursday, Matt Kaplan was charged with crimes that include theft by deception as well as fraudulent business practices, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

"We had put money away. We saved. We were really excited to kind of have a fresh, new look," said Kristen Kerr of West Chester, Pennsylvania.

In 2021, Kerr paid Matt and Margaret Kaplan of M. Kaplan Interiors more than $70,000 in checks, saying the Kaplans would not accept credit card payments.

"That probably should have been our first red flag," Kerr said.

Joan Johnson, of Philadelphia's Overbrook Farms section, ordered a bathroom vanity from M. Kaplan for $6,000 and says Kaplan wouldn't accept her credit card either.

"He just seemed overzealous about getting paid. He rushed to my home and I gave him a check for the $6,000 for the vanity," Johnson said.

Brenda Stank, of Center City Philadelphia, wrote the Kaplans more than $81,000 in checks to re-do her whole condominium.

"They essentially delivered about 80 percent of what I paid for," she said. "I'm out $18,800 and some odd dollars."

The Kerrs say they're missing bar stools, artwork, and a few other pieces.

As for Joan Johnson, it's been nine-and-a-half months and she still doesn't have a vanity.

But Matt Kaplan says he has done nothing wrong and has a good track record of 14 years in business with mostly repeat customers. He blames the problems on "strictly a supply chain issue," saying he ordered items in a timely fashion but can't control what or when items are delivered by manufacturers.

He also says when you special order things, you can't then cancel them. "(It) puts us in a tough situation," he said.

But these consumers claim his shifting stories and lack of timely response and transparency are concerning.

"I don't want this to happen to anybody else," Kerr said.

Now we do have some good news. Johnson did get a full refund.

And after the Troubleshooters got involved and months after they had signed a settlement agreement, Matt Kaplan finally hand-delivered Brenda Stank a partial refund of $12,000.

"I would have been $12,000 in the hole had you guys not been involved," Stank said.

"If you have any problems, I'd like to tell all the consumers out there to call or go online -- Channel 6, Action News Troubleshooters," said Johnson.

The criminal complaint filed Thursday is on behalf of Kerr and three other customers whose allegations are very similar.

The East Whiteland Township police detective wrote in the arrest warrant, "Matthew Kaplan knew he was unable to honor the sales agreements he entered into with the above four victims yet he took their money."

Remember it is best to pay for big purchases with a credit card and not to pay in full, upfront.

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