David Collard’s Scale Facilitation faces New York class action lawsuit

Dozens of staff working for embattled Australian businessman David Collard have made a dramatic move against their boss.

Embattled Australian businessman David Collard in the One World Trade Center office. Picture: Abby Holden

Dozens of staff at an Australian entrepreneur’s start-up empire have joined forces to launch a class action over months of unpaid wages, with many owed tens of thousands of dollars.

The civil lawsuit on behalf of workers at Scale Facilitation’s New York headquarters was filed last week, upping the pressure on the cash-strapped company and its founder David Collard.

The company is already being investigated by Australia’s financial crime taskforce over what insiders say could be “the biggest tax fraud in Australian history”, along with further probes and lawsuits in Australia and the US over millions of dollars in unpaid wages, bills, rent and credit card debts.

David Collard has a close relationship with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. Picture: Supplied

No charges have been laid and Scale has previously denied wrongdoing in the fraud probe.

Mr Collard has declined requests to comment on the various lawsuits.

Nicholas Widmer, the lead plaintiff in the class action, said staff “reached a collective breaking point” after months without pay.

Scale’s senior marketing strategy manager, who is owed $US41,250 ($A64,700), said it had been “massively disruptive” for him and his colleagues – many of whom had mortgages and children in one of the world’s most expensive cities.

“I think the lack of accountability and abdication of leadership has been really shameful, and this gaslighting we’ve been through on not being paid has caused real suffering,” Mr Widmer said in an interview.

According to court documents, staff have also not received healthcare benefits since April.

Geelong radio personality Roxie Bennett with David Collard.

The lawsuit names Mr Collard and three other former company employees, who it is understood have all recently departed. Scale did not respond when asked about the case.

Boyd Law Group founder Patrick Boyd, who is spearheading the class action in the US District Court’s Southern District of New York, said the case was “black and white”.

“There were efforts before our firm appeared and once our firm appeared … to try to work things out, if there was a chance for that, and those were not successful,” he said.

“Promises were made and nothing happened. Not one dollar was paid.”

Documents filed as part of the lawsuit reveal how in April, when payment problems began, Mr Collard told staff: “If there are any financial impacts on you because of the delay, I will of course make those whole.”

David Collard's apartment overlooking Central Park: Picture: Supplied

Dozens of staff at Collard’s start-up have joined forces to launch a class action Picture: Supplied

Mr Widmer, who has not been paid since May 31, last heard from Mr Collard on July 25 when Scale’s founder assured him a deal was closing that could resolve the problem.

Scale’s head of people then provided him with a letter on August 9 which said the company was “treating this matter with utmost urgency and are working diligently to rectify this issue”.

In an interview, he said the unkept promises held back staff from pursuing other jobs, while also making it difficult for them to obtain unemployment benefits as Mr Collard maintained a “business-as-usual veneer”.

Mr Widmer also revealed New York staff were told to take a week of paid vacation in June – for which they were not paid – just days before Australian Federal Police officers raided Scale’s Geelong base in its tax fraud investigation.