The 'Flip or Flop' estranged couple has been sued by an alleged ex-employee who claims they hired him to find homes for them to flip, but they never paid him.
- May 10, 2017
AceShowbiz - Tarek and Christina El Moussa have been hit with a lawsuit over unpaid wages. The "Flip or Flop" estranged couple is sued by an alleged ex-employee named Jonathan Schmier who claims that they hired him to find homes for them to flip, but they never paid him.
In his court documents, Jonathan says he was hired by the El Moussas' company, Next Level Property Investments, last year to find wholesale homes for them to flip in North Carolina. He says he found five properties, for which he was promised $5,000 apiece in commission and $12,800 in back wages, but he never got a paycheck.
Jonathan has now filed a federal lawsuit against the El Moussas, their business partner Pete de Best, HGTV and parent company Scripps Network for a total of $37,800. The home-flipping show only features properties in California, but Jonathan maintains that an associate of the El Moussas' named Scott Rubzin told him they were looking to branch out to North Carolina.
The plaintiff reportedly worked from March-October 2016 procuring potential pads in the state for the estranged couple's company, but was never compensated for delivering the goods. He goes on to claim he contacted the vice president of legal affairs at Scripps Networks, who had no knowledge of plans for "Flip or Flop" to operate in North Carolina.
Jonathan also claims that he had tried to discuss the situation with the other defendants, but they refused to respond. In the legal docs, he accuses the El Moussas of blocking his "e-mail address and Facebook pages and phone numbers in an attempt to avoid paying [him] what he is entitled to."
As of now, reps for Tarek and Christina haven't responded to a request for comment.
