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SALT LAKE CITY -- A woman who served time for pretending to have cancer and scamming people for money to pay for medical bills now faces charges for a new scam that targeted engaged couples.
Tania Clark was arrested Sept. 10, accused of taking nearly $30,000 from one couple, promising them a grand wedding at the Canyons Resort. Now more couples and vendors are coming forward, saying Clark owes them money too.
Britnie and Chris Harmon's wedding day was perfect. It was everything they had hoped for, but that didn't last long.
"We woke up the next morning and my phone was going like crazy," Britnie said. "All the vendors were wanting their money, and we had no money to give them."
That's because the Harmons hired Tania Clark to plan their wedding and paid her $6,000 to take care of everything.
"We had a tight budget, and Tania told us we could get a good deal from her, [that] everything she does is discounted because she does so many weddings," Britnie said.
"She was so friendly and acted like she was willing to help us and bend over backwards," Chris said.
The Harmons had no idea Clark wasn't paying vendors, or that her checks bounced.
Florist Lisa Seig was one of the vendors who never saw a dime for the work she did on the Harmons' wedding. In fact, Seig said she did five weddings in all for Clark and never got paid.
"She owes me about $8,000 right now," Seig said. "I did send her a legal letter, but she did end up filing for bankruptcy."
Now Clark is in jail. Summit County deputies arrested her Sept. 10 on suspicion she took nearly $30,000 from another couple, promising them a grand wedding at the Canyons Resort.
Back in 2005, Clark made up a story about having cancer and needing a bone marrow transplant. She was convicted of scamming $16,000 out of her community for that, including her children's school, and served a month in jail.
When Britnie heard about Clark's arrest, she wanted to share her story so no one else goes through it.
Even though the Harmons did not have to pay the vendors for what Clark did, Britnie says Clark also stole from her.
"She took some of our gift cards at the wedding and charged my [credit] card," Britnie said.
As for Seig, she now only works on contract and researches all her clients. She knows she'll likely never see that $8,000.
The Memorial House in Memory Grove is another vendor that says Clark owes it hundreds of dollars. Management there says she is banned from the reception center.
KSL News looked up Clark's Utah court records and found she's been convicted of three felonies and has had dozens of debt collections and tax liens.
Clark currently sits in the Summit County Jail. She faces a series of communication fraud charges.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
