Trulieve Cannabis (CSE: TRUL) has taken legal action against its former financial chief, Alex D’Amico, accusing him of exploiting his position for personal gain.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the lawsuit alleges that D’Amico abused his authority to fund personal luxuries, including vacations, high-end clothing, legal fees, and more, under the guise of business-related expenses.
During his tenure as CFO, D’Amico purportedly treated the corporate coffers as his “personal slush fund,” according to the suit, which estimates the disputed amount to be between $350,000 and $400,000 over approximately four years.
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The company’s internal investigation, triggered by irregularities in expense reports, uncovered discrepancies in D’Amico’s expenditures. These included seeking reimbursements for expenses already charged to the corporate card and even fabricating expenses, the suit alleges.
Furthermore, D’Amico allegedly made unauthorized purchases from high-end retailers and utilized company funds to cover personal legal costs, among other expenditures detailed in the lawsuit.
The purchases
As per the allegations outlined in the lawsuit, D’Amico reportedly made substantial purchases of clothing from upscale retailers like Nordstrom, Lululemon, Vuori, and BYLT Premium Basics, totaling thousands of dollars. For example, on April 12, 2023, he purportedly incurred a charge of $236.00 at Lululemon, and on May 12, 2023, he allegedly spent $819.00 at BYLT Premium Basics.
Furthermore, D’Amico is accused of using company funds to cover the retainer fee for his personal attorney, amounting to thousands of dollars. The lawsuit contends that this expense was not justifiable as a legitimate business cost.
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On April 15, 2023, it is claimed that D’Amico charged $1,318.88 to his corporate card for a transaction at the eye care chain, Pearle Vision. Similarly, on May 6, 2023, he purportedly made three separate unauthorized charges, totaling approximately $130, at the Legoland Discovery Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Additionally, he allegedly utilized the corporate card to finance a $24,000 “executive training” program, which the company asserts was neither approved nor beneficial.
Despite presenting evidence of misconduct, D’Amico resigned from Trulieve last year without admitting any wrongdoing. His compensation package at the time included a base salary of $400,000 and stock awards totaling $207,000.
The lawsuit demands restitution and damages on grounds including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, civil fraud, and conversion.
This comes on the heels of the recently released Q4 2023 financial report of the firm where it recorded 4% drop in revenue from the same comparable period last year.
After his departure from Trulieve, D’Amico, who’s been CFO since 2020, briefly served as CFO at CytoSorbents Corp before leaving shortly after Trulieve made his departure public.
Trulieve has since appointed Wes Getman as its new CFO in December 2023, following a series of temporary appointments in the wake of D’Amico’s resignation.
Trulieve Cannabis last traded at $13.15 on the CSE.
Information for this briefing was found via Green Market Report and the companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
