STRATUS Lawsuit Alleges Janitorial Franchise Fraud
Stratus Building Solutions franchisees in Indiana have filed a Class Action Complaint and Jury Demand against Stratus master franchisee Shamrock Building Services, Inc., Kevin Spellacy, Jerry Wenger, and Pamella Martins,and Stratus Building Solutions franchisor Stratus Franchising, L.L.C..
The case was filed June 8, 2012 in Marion Superior Court on behalf of the defendants by Paul B. Overhauser, attorney, and Kathrine Jack, of Counsel, of the law firm of Overhauser Law Offices:
Read the full complaint here:
Nidia Martinez, et. al. v. Shamrock Building Services, Inc., Stratus Franchising, L.L.C., Kevin Spellacy, Jerry Wenger, and Pamella Martins
Nidia Martinez, Maria Manriquez, Elsa De La Cruz, Eni Cruz Rodriquez, Victor Garcia, Laura Andolon, Ronny Funes, Theresa Escobedo, Lorenzo Rodriguez, Faustina Negrete, Yolanda Alvarez, Jose Leon, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
Shamrock Building Services, Inc., Stratus Franchising, L.L.C., Kevin Spellacy, Jerry Wenger, and Pamella Martins,
Defendants.
Indiana Franchisees Allege Stratus Master Franchise Scam
According to the franchise complaint:
“This case involves unscrupulous Defendants who ignore these laws, and instead oppress hundreds of American workers just to make themselves richer.
“Their unscrupulous strategy is to label their workers ‘franchisees,’ and have them sign a ‘franchise agreement.’
“Using the misguided and illegal strategy, they have evaded the consumer and worker protection laws that form the foundation of American society. Instead, they pay their workers a fraction of the minimum wage, make illegal deductions from payments to their workers, and evade taxes owed to the Indiana and Federal governments.”
The complaint alleges that the franchise system used by Stratus Building Solutions and its master franchisee Kevin Spellacy is essentially a scam that promotes an oppressive and illegal scam that defrauds would-be business owners out of their life savings. The lawsuit contends:
“Defendant Stratus is a janitorial services company that contracts with owners of commercial buildings to clean offices, schools and medical clinics. Because janitorial work is often an unattractive occupation, Stratus needs to offer incentives to prospective workers.
“Unlike legitimate businesses, who would simply offer a higher wage to attract workers for an undesirable job, Stratus uses a different scheme. It offers prospective workers a ‘guaranteed business’ and ‘guaranteed financing’ and the prospect of making thousands of dollars.
“To make matters worse, when hiring cleaning workers, Stratus makes them first pay a ‘franchise fee’ to purchase a ‘franchise.’ These ‘franchise fees’ often represent a worker’s entire life savings; yet they get nothing in return, other than the right to be subjected to further exploitation by Defendant’s illegal scheme.”
Read more here: Janitorial / Commercial Cleaning Franchise Issues
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