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An ousted executive of a New Jersey medical marijuana company is suing his former employer, alleging that he was fired after flagging the improper movement of some $1 million.
A lawsuit filed Friday in state Superior Court in Hudson County by Robert Moroni accuses Harmony Foundation’s CEO Shaya Brodchandel of sending $1 million of company money to Israel for a personal investment. Moroni claims he was fired and removed from the board after speaking up.
A spokesperson for Harmony called the allegations “baseless,” and said the company “looks forward to defeating them in court.”
Harmony is one of just 10 companies actively growing, processing and dispensing medical marijuana in New Jersey. It has a dispensary in Secaucus and plans to open others in North Jersey.
Moroni joined Harmony in April as its chief administrative officer. He already had a seat on the company’s Board of Trustees.
In August, he learned that Brodchandel had refused to let outside auditors count about $1 million in cash stored in a safe at Harmony’s headquarters, according to the claim.
Brodchandel told Moroni that he did not let auditors count the cash because he had sent it to Israel to fund a new marijuana dispensary, a personal investment for he and Harmony’s chief operating officer Yuda Meer, according to the complaint. The cash was allegedly taken overseas by hand without approval from the Board of Trustees.
Moroni contacted the company’s general counsel, and Harmony ultimately hired an outside investigator to look into the issue. During that inquiry, Brodchandel allegedly told an investigator he had lied about sending the money to Israel, and had actually moved it to a safe that was outside of Harmony, but under his control.
The investigation also revealed improper record keeping and invoices for purchases made by Harmony for an Israeli dispensary, the claim states.
Brodchandel allegedly had a Harmony employee go to the safe and take pictures of the money, but did not allow him to count it or tell anyone where the safe was, according to the claim.
The lawsuit alleges that the money photographed was not the same as that taken to Israel.
The cash was eventually brought to Harmony and counted, totaling just over $1 million. Moroni said it should be placed in a safe at Harmony’s cultivation site until it could be taken to the bank, but Brodchandel refused, according to the lawsuit.
Before the investigation concluded, Brodchandel and Meer called an emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees, met without Moroni present, and fired him at its conclusion, the complaint says. He was also removed from the board, according to the complaint.
Moroni’s lawsuit alleges that the cash issue was not reported to the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission, and that he was threatened with a lawsuit should he discuss it further.
The complaint argues that Moroni’s conduct was protected by the Conscientious Employee Protection Act. He is suing to be reinstated in his position, which had a $350,000 salary and $250,000 bonus, and for other damages.
This story has been updated to include comment from Harmony.
NJ Advance Media reporter Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.
Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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