Harrison Suarez claims he was pushed out and Covid relief funds were misused
Washington: So, here’s the scoop. Harrison Suarez, one of the co-founders of Compass Coffee, is taking legal action against his former partner, Michael Haft, and Haft’s dad. He claims they pushed him out and misused Covid relief funds.
Compass Coffee started back in 2013 when Suarez and Haft, who met in college and served in the Marines together, decided to sell coffee. They both invested $100,000 and owned equal shares at first. But things took a turn.
Suarez alleges that Haft quickly became the majority owner, which led to him being kicked out without any heads-up. The lawsuit says that Robert Haft, Michael’s father, misled them about ownership changes, allowing Michael to grab a bigger slice of the pie.
In a LinkedIn post, Suarez explained that after trying to sort things out privately, he felt he had no choice but to file a lawsuit in D.C. Federal Court. He mentioned how he was forcibly removed from the company while he was out of the country and wasn’t compensated for his work.
The lawsuit also claims that the Hafts misused $10.5 million in Covid relief funds, using it for personal loans and risky investments instead of paying the company’s bills. Suarez tried to sell his stake back to Compass, but the Hafts allegedly blocked that from happening.
He’s looking for a trial to get monetary damages and is also claiming he was tricked into giving up his 50% stake. Plus, he’s alleging that their actions could fall under racketeering laws. Right now, there are 20 Compass Coffee locations in D.C., but neither Haft has commented on the lawsuit yet.
