Bucks County Business Owners Charged With Ripping Off 40 Customers

BEDMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — A Bucks County couple who operated a custom furniture business in Bedminster have been charged with ripping off its customers to the tune of nearly $118,000 and pocketing the money for personal expenses.

Austin D. Smallacombe, 36, and his wife, Amanda Smallacombe, 35, of Katie Lane, were arraigned on June 22 by Magisterial District Judge Stacy Wertman on felony counts of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, deceptive business practices, false statement to induce agreement for home improvement practices, receiving advance payment for services and failing to perform, criminal use of a communication facility and criminal conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking.

They were sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility, Austin Smallacombe on $900,000 bail, 10 percent, and Amanda Smallacombe on $500,000 bail, 10 percent. Her bail was reduced on Tuesday.

They both have preliminary hearings scheduled for July 10 before Magisterial District Judge Gary Gambardella.

The investigation was conducted by Bucks County Detectives, the Newtown Township Police Department, Bedminster Township Police Department, and the Hilltown Township Police Department.

The investigation found that the Smallacombe's owned and operated A&A Custom Furniture, from 300 block of Katie Lane, Perkasie, which is also their home address.

Hilltown police received a report on July 1, 2022, from a resident who said he paid the Smallacombe's $4,300 for custom dining furniture. The victim paid for the furniture on Jan. 1, 2022, and was told it would take 10 to 12 weeks to complete and deliver, but he never received anything.

The victim said Austin Smallacombe gave him several excuses, such as weather-related or medical-related delays, for not getting his furniture. He later told the victim he would give him a refund, which he never did.

Since June 14, 2022, Bedminster Township police, Hilltown Township police, and Newtown Township police spoke to more than 40 additional victims of the Smallacombes and A&A Custom Furniture. The victims, from Bucks, Berks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties,
lost a total of $117,880.40.

The victims said they contacted the Smallacombes through Facebook or other social media networks and ordered custom furniture to be built. The victims paid large financial deposits for the manufacturing of furniture using online payment methods. In most cases, the victims
didn’t receive the furniture they ordered, and, in some cases, they received poor-quality furniture with numerous defects.

The investigation found that the Smallacombes used the money on personal expenses.

This case was investigated by Bucks County Detective Timothy Johnson, Bedminster Township Officer Stephen Pekach, Hilltown Township Detective Louis Bell, and Newtown Township Detective Nick Moffett.

This case is assigned for prosecution to Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber, Chief of Insurance Fraud and Economic Crimes.