Crain's New York
Adrianne Pasquarelli
Three weeks ago, hundreds of disgruntled New York workers braved the cold weather to march 20 blocks in protest of unfair wage practices. On Tuesday, they received some vindication. One of the objects of their protest, David Cohen, owner of fast fashion, seven-store chain Mystique Boutique, was arrested by the state attorney general's office for cheating his employees out of $1.5 million.
“Workers were not only ripped off, but were also intimidated to make sure they stayed quiet,” said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, in a statement. “Today's civil and criminal charges should send a strong message: No one is above the law. My office will take action against employers that take advantage of their workers and cheat the state's unemployment insurance fund.”
Mr. Cohen owns stores such as Mystique at 547 Broadway, Exstaza at 491 Broadway, and Amsterdam at 454 Broadway. Employees at his stores were allegedly paid $5.25 an hour, which is $2 below minimum wage. In addition, for the last six years, employees have worked 66-hour work weeks and were not paid overtime. About 150 workers are owed the $1.5 million. The attorney general's office also reported filings that Mr. Cohen allegedly threatened workers, and even offered one person up to $50,000 to divulge which employees were involved in the investigation against him and his business.
“We applaud the attorney general for this arrest, which puts merchants on notice that New Yorkers have zero tolerance for employer lawlessness,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union. “This gives our fight for ending wage theft and securing a living wage for retail workers a real boost.”
Mr. Cohen is charged with 19 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree and 19 counts of offering a false instrument for filing, both Class E felonies with a possible imprisonment of four years each. Mr. Cuomo is seeking civil damages of $1.5 million.
In early February, 250 workers from Mystique and another local chain, Shoe Mania, marched from SoHo to Union Square in a demonstration against low wages and unfair labor practices. The march was organized by the Retail Action Project, which is part of the RWDSU.