While celebrity-beloved fashion designer Zac Posen’s brand was abruptly shuttered last week, it isn’t the end of the firm’s financial woes.
Former chief financial officer Dominic Miachon-Hobson has filed a lawsuit claiming he’s owed nearly $200,000 by House of Z and Posen, famed for his couture gowns. And now he’s preparing to widen the suit against billionaire Ron Burkle and his company Yucaipa, Posen’s major investor.
Miachon-Hobson filed his suit Oct. 11 in New York Supreme Court, claiming he is owed $167,177.51 in unreimbursed expenses.
He states in the suit that he paid for business expenses — including taxes, utility bills and shipping fees — with his personal credit card, and the company failed to pay him back. He alleges his wages have not been paid since Aug. 30, and he is seeking damages, attorneys’ fees, punitive damages and interest.
He claimed to Page Six, “Even after Ron Burkle and Yucaipa acquired a large portion of the business, it has been wildly underfunded . . . I was told to clear everything up with no money coming in . . . Everybody was so committed to Zac and the company, many of us put our own money in. I allowed them to use my credit card to help the company get credit. I even paid the payroll taxes from my own account.”
But a source close to the company tells us, “The business was failing and that’s why the funds weren’t there.” Personal payments made by Miachon-Hobson were “against company policy,” adding, “He wasn’t authorized to put expenses on his card . . . He signed a clause saying he wasn’t going to put in his personal money.”
The source added that “no one wanted him to be owed money, but he shouldn’t have done what he did. [But] no one will fault him for being loyal to Zac. Everyone was trying to make it work.” Posen’s board said it was “determined to cease business operations and carry out an orderly disposition of its assets.”
Yucaipa had been trying to sell its stake since April. Its reps had no comment.