Md. County takes White House party-crashers to court, says they bounced $24,000 check

Lawsuit: Salahis bounced $24K check for liquor buy

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The Virginia couple at the center of last week’s White House security breach is now accused of bouncing a nearly $24,000 check for liquor purchased in Maryland.

The Montgomery County government, which conducts all the wholesale liquor sales on its territory, filed a lawsuit Thursday against Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the couple who got into a state dinner last week without an invitation. The Salahis purchased wine and beer for America’s Polo Cup World Championship, a charity polo event they held in the county in May.

According to documents filed in Montgomery County District Court, the couple returned more than $10,000 worth of merchandise, but they still owe more than $13,000 from the bounced check.

A spokesman for Dewey & LeBoeuf, a law firm that represents the couple, declined to comment on the claim.

Meanwhile, at a Virginia courthouse Friday, Tareq Salahi was forced to give up a Patek Phillipe he was wearing to pay the couple’s $2,000 debt to landscaper Mike E. Dunbar. The Salahis’ lawyer said the watch would be worth far more than the debt. The judge ordered the watch held at the courthouse until the lawyers figure out how to sell it.

Virginia regulators said Thursday they are investigating the Salahis’ fundraising practices. The couple says money raised through the polo tournament goes to their nonprofit Journey for the Cure. But state officials say the nonprofit didn’t register with the state to raise money until last month.