The Real Housewives Of New York City mainstay Ramona Singer is being sued by a former employee, whose lawsuit claims that she was underpaid and mistreated by the star, and was made to take part in a scam to defraud the Bravo cable network.
The woman, named Lisa Taubes, worked for Singer for almost two years between 2016 and 2017, and the suit claims was promised a base salary of $4000 per month in exchange for 15-20 hours a week of work, with extra money for overtime.
The suit says that Taubes frequently worked 40-hour weeks, with Singer contacting her “at all hours during the day and night” and expecting her to “be on call around the clock”, but that she did not receive any of the overtime she was allegedly promised.
In another potentially very serious allegation, the suit claims that Taubes was “routinely” instructed by Ramona Singer to “engage in unethical practices by submitting false receipts to networks for reimbursement on clothes.”
Allegedly, Taubes was instructed to buy designer clothes for Singer, which were to be worn in episodes of the show. The suit claims she was told to submit the receipts to Bravo for reimbursement, then return the clothes to the store for refunds.
The suit also alleges that Singer would instruct her to “submit fake receipts for reimbursement on clothes that she already owned.”
It is further claimed that Singer “humiliated” Taubes by firing her in the lobby of her building. She was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, and when she refused, Singer allegedly shoved her, causing the contents of her purse to scatter on the floor.
The suit, filed by an employment agency called T360 which represents Taubes, seeks more than $150,000 in damages for breach of contract.
Speaking to Page Six, Singer herself did not appear to address the allegations, but said: “I have no knowledge of any lawsuit. Her company did some work for my company. The relationship ended and her company was paid in full for their services.”
The Bravo network has not yet commented.
