The children’s boutique chain Littles has gone dark across the Triangle, with its Cary, Raleigh and Burlington locations shuttered and its owner, Christine Wells, facing a growing pile of unpaid debts to former employees, customers, vendors and contractors. Court records show a federal judge recently entered a default judgment of more than $184,000 against the business and Wells over unpaid merchandise, and that’s just one of several legal actions now stacking up.
According to ABC11, Olivia Richmond, who worked at Littles of Burlington, received her first paycheck but never got her second, leaving her owed about $1,000. Richmond told the station that Wells attributed the payment delays to technical problems before eventually stopping responding to her messages altogether. Richmond wasn’t alone — the station reports that other contractors and service providers also sought payment from Littles without success.
Customer Ashton Choros had a similar experience after ordering a Maileg dollhouse from Littles of Cary and paying $375 by credit card, per the same ABC11 account. She says she never received the dollhouse; Wells told her it was being shipped and later said she had issued a refund, but Choros says she never found that refund in her bank statements and ultimately disputed the charge with her credit card company.
Vendors Left Holding Unpaid Inventory
The unpaid bills extend well beyond individual customers. A Las Vegas-based baby clothing vendor shipped roughly $2,500 in merchandise to Littles that was never paid for, the station reports. A separate children’s clothing company sued Wells and Littles of Cary, alleging the business owed more than $188,000 for unpaid merchandise — a case that ended with a judge entering a default judgment for $184,242.23 in damages plus interest after Wells reportedly missed her deadline to respond, according to court records cited by ABC11…