Tareq Salahi, former "real husband" on Bravo reality television show, The Real Housewives of D.C., is the target of a suit by the Attorney General of Virginia over alleged violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
The office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Monday the suit had been filed in a Fauquier County, Va., Circuit Court against Salahi over a wine tour venture and allegations of not delivering wine tours as promised or refunds for canceled tours. He is also accused of representing "reputable businesses" as partners when they were not.
Also named in the suit are Virginia Wine Tourism, Inc. and Celebration Entertainment Productions, LLC. Cuccinelli's office said that Salahi is the "sole officer and director" of Virginia Wine Tourism and presumed to be the same for Celebration Entertainment Productions.
Salahi and his wife, Michaele, were featured on Bravo's Real Housewives, and gained even greater notoriety after crashing a White House dinner in November 2009.
Cuccinelli is seeking civil penalties as well as the return of all monies collected from consumers.
An e-mail request for comment from the companies drew the following unsigned response: "The fact is, the AG has been using the press to gain attention to his plan to one day run for governor and has been on a witch hunt against Mr. Salahi. The companies he refers to are in fact run by Mrs. Salahi, not Mr. Salahi, so they are going after the wrong person... "
