AOL Stylist.com
Bee-Shyuan Chang
Has the recession spawned a new set of bosses from hell?
New York City retail owner David Cohen, who sells fast fashion at his seven-store Mystique boutique chain, has allegedly been even faster at pulling the slip on his employees.
The New York Attorney General arrested Cohen on both civil and criminal charges, claiming that he cheated his workers out of $1.5 million in wages.
According to the complaint filed, at least 150 employees at Cohen's Manhattan stores -- including Mystique at 547 Broadway; Exstasa at 491 Broadway; and Amsterdam at 454 Broadway -- were paid less than minimum wage and no overtime.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo elaborates in a statement, "Workers were not only ripped off, but were also intimidated to make sure they stayed quiet. All workers deserve fair pay and have a right to stand up for themselves. Today's civil and criminal charges should send a strong message: No one is above the law."
The complaint goes on to charge Cohen with crafting falsified tax records by underreporting his number of employees and their salaries.
It turns out cheating Uncle Sam is the worst of all. The Attorney General is tacking on 19 counts of "Falsifying Business Records" in the First Degree and 19 counts of "Offering a False Instrument for Filing." Both are class E felonies, meaning the business owner could receive up to four years in prison for each count.
Yikes, that could total a whopping 152 years in the pen!
And the legal charges don't end there. Allegedly, Cohen also tried to stump the investigation by threatening workers if they signing anything related to the store, and tried to pay one employee $50,000 to get dirt on employees who were speaking to investigators.
Cohen isn't the only one with a criminal court date. This former Dolce & Gabbana publicist is also facing some serious charges.