North Country Gazette
NEW YORK—David Cohen, the owner of seven popular clothing stores in New York City, has been arrested for allegedly failing to pay his employees proper legal wages, falsifying tax and business records, and trying to impede the Attorney General’s investigation into the matter.
The Attorney General seeks to recover more than $1.5 million in unpaid wages and damages.
Both criminal and civil actions were filed Tuesday against Cohen by the Attorney General. Cohen’s stores include Mystique Boutique (547 Broadway, 324 Fifth Ave., and 412 Broadway); Madness Boutique (305 Canal St.); Exstaza (491 Broadway); and Amsterdam (454 Broadway and 365-367 Canal St).
“In this case, workers were not only ripped off but were also intimidated to make sure they stayed quiet,” said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. “All workers deserve fair pay and have a right to stand up for themselves”.
From at least 2004, Cohen’s employees have often worked 10 to 11 hours per day, six days per week, the Attorney General said. Most employees were not paid overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week, in violation of state and federal wage laws. In total, over 150 employees are owed more than $1.5 million in unpaid wages and damages, according to the AG’s office.
According to the actions filed by the Attorney General’s office, once Cohen learned of the Attorney General’s investigation, he tried to prevent workers from cooperating with investigators. Cohen even allegedly tried to pay one worker up to $50,000 to acquire information about which workers were speaking to investigators. Several other workers were allegedly threatened not to sign anything in connection with the investigation or against the store.
The AG’s office said that tax records reveal that Cohen and his companies falsified tax records by underreporting to New York State both the number of employees at his stores and their salaries. These records are relied on by New York State to calculate an employer’s liability to the unemployment insurance fund. By misrepresenting his total payroll each quarter, Cohen allegedly cheated the unemployment insurance fund and increased the burden on other New York employers.
Criminally, Cohen is charged with 19 counts of first degree falsifying business records and 19 counts of offering a false instrument for filing, both of which are class E felonies that carry terms of up to four years in prison each.
Cohen is also charged with criminal retaliation and with several misdemeanors, including five counts of tampering with a witness, failure to pay wages and multiple other Labor Law violations. Additionally, the Attorney General seeks civil damages of at least $1.5 million for the underpaid employees.
Asaf Cohen, a manager and relative of David Cohen, is also charged in the civil case. 2-23-10