Name: Accused Old City arsonists ordered to pay $135,000+ in wage theft case
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Accused Old City arsonists ordered to pay $135,000+ in wage theft case

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Two brothers accused of sparking a devastating 2018 arson in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood have been ordered by a judge to pay out more than $135,000 to victims of a .Brothers Imad and Bahaa Dawara were to collect on a $750,000 insurance payout. The ensuing blaze displaced hundreds and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property.But a class-action suit filed by four former employees in 2018 alleged the duo were up to nefarious activity years before the blaze –– requiring their employees to work for tips alone, then falsifying tax records to create the impression they had paid out legal wages.After nearly two years, U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg sided with the onetime lounge workers, awarding each between $20,000 and $48,000. The sums amount to lost wages plus damages –– as some of the workers said the Internal Revenue Service later pursued them for taxes on income the Dawaras had never paid out.“This is a great victory for low-wage working people whose wages were unlawfully stolen from them,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Ryan Hancock. “My clients have incurred enormous unfair and incorrect tax liabilities that they have been struggling to pay for years.”Budget cuts, however, will prevent a planned expansion of the city’s street cleaning program.The case had been pending for several months, awaiting a judge’s ruling. Some of the plaintiffs, like former bartender Amal Ibrahim, said they had been dogged by IRS penalties even after the wage theft suit was filed.“The IRS is still sending me notices and penalties. I can’t buy a home. I can’t get a loan for nursing school,” she told WHYY last year. “It’s a big weight. I’m just trying to fix it.”Hancock said he hoped the ruling would help his clients free themselves from tax woes now, as a judge had acknowledged that the brothers “conspired to defraud the federal government.”Josh Ganz, a lawyer for the Dawaras, declined to comment. The brothers are currently in jail awaiting trial on arson and tax evasion charges.Subscribe to PlanPhillyOur weekly newsletter delivers original reporting on the people, places and things that make Philly.In-depth, original reporting on housing, transportation, and development.Eyes on the StreetFor 10 years, Caitlin Nagel has fought for Philadelphians at Community Legal Services. When it comes to justice, she says we need more than “Band-Aid solutions.”6ABCBahaa Dawara was sentenced for setting fire to his family's Old City hookah bar and lounge for insurance money in 2018.Years before federal authorities charged Imad and Bahaa Dawara with torching their Old City business, former employees say the pair stole their wages.Sign up for our weekly newsletter.Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal

Two brothers accused of sparking a devastating 2018 arson in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood have been ordered by a judge to pay out more than $135,000 to victims of a .Brothers Imad and Bahaa Dawara were to collect on a $750,000 insurance payout. The ensuing blaze displaced hundreds and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property.But a class-action suit filed by four former employees in 2018 alleged the duo were up to nefarious activity years before the blaze –– requiring their employees to work for tips alone, then falsifying tax records to create the impression they had paid out...

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Accused Old City arsonists ordered to pay $135,000+ in wage theft case

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