Popular nightclub/venue Verboten has been seized by the New York State government for failure to pay taxes, according to several reports circulating this evening. Verboten is the center of some legal allegations, as a major exposé recently published in the NY Daily News uncovered that 16 different employees had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the club’s married owner, Jen Schiffer.
According to that report, lawsuit papers claim that Schiffer “discusses her sex life — including her favorite sexual positions and sexual encounters with her husband, John Perez, and other women.” In a statement, attorneys Michael Willemin and David Gottlieb of Wigdor LLP said, “In return for being dedicated employees, our clients were mistreated, sexually harassed and not even paid for vast stretches of time.”
The lack of payment seems to be another running theme with Verboten, as numerous promoters and artists have alleged that the venue has not paid them. With that in mind, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the venue was seized by the New York State government.
The recent lawsuit also alleges that Schiffer “pressured workers into threesomes, boasted about sleeping with more customers than her husband and freaked out when too many black patrons attended a party.” Yikes.
Between the horrific lawsuit and the inability to pay funds owed to the government, it seems that Verboten’s closure may be for the best.