SEATTLE — A Washington man who used crowdfunding to collect more than $25,000 for a project that never delivered has been slapped with civil penalties.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson says Edward Polchlopek and his company Altius Management have been ordered to pay $54,800 as a result of his 2012 “Asylum Playing Cards” Kickstarter campaign.
The campaign raised funds from 810 backers, including 31 from Washington. Polchlopek claimed his company would print a deck of cards and other items featuring artwork by a Serbian artist. But the project never delivered.
Ferguson says he filed a lawsuit against Polchlopek under the Consumer Protection Act.
King County Superior Court Commissioner Henry Judson ordered Polchlopek to pay $668 in restitution to the 31 Washington state backers and $31,000 in civil penalties, plus about $23,000 to cover the cost of the case.
