When last we saw wedding photographer Jesse Clark–he was running away from our questions.
And dozens of newlyweds say he ran off with their precious memories. They say they paid his company, Sure Shot Videography, to shoot their wedding videos– but never got them.
Mano/groom: we did not get anything from Jesse
Hank: and how long has it been
Mano/groom: It’s been ten months and a week
Milbury police called Clark to talk about the newlywed complaints and we were there to ask questions….Jesse’s father covered his face with his leather coat and pushed him out the police station door – slamming me aside.
You can see Clark shove a photographer from another tv station who falls to the ground.
Then he sprints off across the parking lot–and that’s the last we heard from him–until now.
Jesse Clark–or someone using the email address “Sureshot Videography”-just sent us this 16 minute production. It begins with this highly produced video that includes part of our story about him and then goes to a music and graphic announcing “the Jesse Clark interview.”
In the “interview”–although there’s no one asking questions–Clark describes his decision to leave law school and start a wedding photography business, as well as his success as a photographer.
Jesse Clark “Our sales for 2011 were a quarter of a million dollars and we’re well above that for 2012 and we’re getting booked into 2013 so we are a very very busy company.”
He then recounts the problems which resulted in his failure to provide wedding videos in a timely manner–
Jesse Clark “Our editors were simply backed up and if we weren’t backed up, we had incompetent editors working for us.”
What’s more he says a photographer died, the company was fully booked every weekend, and they lost wedding footage in a power surge in hurricane Irene.
Jesse Clark “It’s not the fact that we’re a scam, its the fact that I’d rather have people wait than send them a product that looks like crap. That’s the main reason why people aren’t getting their videos.
Right now, police in Milbury–where SureShot Videography had this studio–say they’ve had more than a hundred inquiries from newlyweds looking for their videos.
And the Mass AG’s office reports they now have more than sixty complaints from unhappy couples.
Jesse Clark’s video response–is to offer to do more weddings.
Jesse Clark “To prove that I’m not a scam artist, from now until the end of the year, as long as I’m not booked on that day, I will shoot a wedding for free.”
Hank: In the “interview,” Clark insists he does intend to provide the promised wedding videos-you can watch the entire statement on our website whdh.com. The Mass attorney General’s office says if you have a complaint, the best thing to do is contact them–we’ve put a link to that on our website. In the newsroom, I’m Hank Phillippi Ryan.
If you’ve been waiting to get your wedding video from Jesse Clark, Milbury police say they may be able to help you. The chief says his department is making copies of the raw video from the hard drives and they may be able to help couples get it. http://www.millburypolice.com
Email Detective Fortunato for more information: millburypolice.com
If you’d like to file a complaint about SureShot Portraits contact the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Public Inquiry and Assistance Center hotline: 617-727-8400 or http://www.mass.gov/ago/