Keene, n.h.
Douglas Ring, a former Charlestown Selectboard member, received a suspended sentence and was placed on probation for two years after entering guilty pleas in Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene to two misdemeanor theft by deception charges, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.
Initially, Ring was indicted last summer on two felony theft by deception charges and two misdemeanor charges of “unfair or deceptive act or practice.”
The case was initiated in summer 2015 when the now 43-year-old Ring, who owned Riverside Pool and Spas in Claremont at the time, took large deposits from two different customers to order and install products. In the first case, Ring took a $12,000 deposit from a Charlestown couple for an in-ground swimming pool but never ordered it.
“When asked for a refund, Mr. Ring lied and told the customer that the pool had been ordered and was on the truck for delivery,” the state Attorney General’s Office wrote.
In the second case, Ring took a $5,800 deposit from a Newport couple for a spa but never ordered it.
“Mr. Ring deceptively told the customer that the reason the spa was not delivered was because the spa company was experiencing a shortage in staff and long delays in production,” according to the release.
In both cases, he didn’t provide the customers with a refund and instead used the money to pay bills and expenses, the release states.
As part of a plea agreement, Ring must remain of good behavior and pay full restitution to his victims. He must also not accept prepayments or deposits while on probation; it is unclear whether he currently owns a pool and spa business.
“Unfortunately, we see a lot of these kinds of cases and these are the kinds of cases that the Attorney General’s Office takes seriously and will pursue aggressively,” Assistant Attorney General John Garrigan, who prosecuted the case, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday afternoon.
When reached by phone, Ring’s public defender, Matthew Hill, declined to comment.
Wednesday wasn’t the first time Ring faced a judge over failure to repay or deliver products.
In 2014, Ring went before a judge in Claremont District Court and was ordered to make monthly payments totaling $6,600 to the town of Charlestown, which was the amount he owed the town for a pool cover he failed to deliver. Ring deposited a check for the cover in January 2012, but it was never delivered.
When the town ordered the product in December 2011, Ring was on the Selectboard and his business, Ringscape Pool and Spas, was in Charlestown at the time.
Ring was never prosecuted.
Charlestown Town Administrator David Edkins said the town has since been repaid in full.
Ring, a Charlestown resident, has operated his pool and spa business out of a few locations, including on Washington and Pleasant streets in Claremont and on Interchange Drive in West Lebanon. Those stores are now closed.
Ring’s most recent case came to light after someone filed a complaint through the state’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, Garrigan, the prosecutor, said. Going forward, Garrigan urged residents to research businesses before providing deposits or prepayments for services.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.