Hartsdale firm co-founder pins ouster on son-in-law’s divorce
An executive who co-founded a staffing company with his daughter and her husband claims his son-in-law forced him out in retaliation after she sued for divorce.
Daniel Rubenstein accused Steven Perlman of misappropriating his “labor, skills, expenditures and ”¦ the fruits of his work,” in a complaint filed Aug. 18 in Westchester Supreme Court.
In 2017, Perlman and his wife Deborah, Rubenstein, and Matt Hall founded The Syfter Group. The boutique technology staffing firm was based at the Perlmans”™ Hartsdale home.
The firm was set up as entirely owned by Perlman but included an equity plan for an eventual, hoped-for buy-out. Steven Perlman, the CEO, would receive 51% of the proceeds; Rubenstein, the CFO, 15%; and Deborah Perlman, the human resources director, 9%. Hall and future management would receive the rest.
Rubenstein, of Woodstock, Ulster County, says he had run his own consulting firm had been paid a $550,000 salary by a previous employer.
He took a $50,000 salary initially, according to the complaint, with the expectation of a substantial financial gain if the business succeeded and was sold.
Within five years, the complaint states, Syfter had grown to $15 million in annual revenue and a $2.5 million profit. In 2021, Rubenstein received a salary of $225,000 and a $100,000 bonus.
He claims credit for securing $2.5 million in financing, developing the financial system, co-creating group decision-making software, and being involved “in nearly every key decision made by Syfter.”
But as his daughter”™s marriage deteriorated and she filed for divorce in October 2022, Rubenstein”™s position also deteriorated, according to the complaint.
When the divorce papers were served, Rubenstein claims, Perlman told his wife that he would terminate her father.
Rubenstein accuses Perlman of creating a hostile workplace, in an effort to coerce him into resigning and bypass a severance plan.
Perlman had said Rubenstein would receive a $200,000 bonus for 2022, the complaint states, then a month later said there would be no bonus.
A part-time CFO was hired, according to the complaint, and in the “ultimate slap in the face” Perlman directed Rubenstein to train her as his replacement.
Rubenstein’s employment agreement required Syfter to give a 60-day notice of termination and provide full salary and benefits during the interim. Unless he was fired for cause ”“ such as fraud, a criminal conviction, insubordination ”“ he was entitled to nearly 15% of Syfter”™s net assets.
On Jan. 17, Perlman fired Rubenstein for cause, effective immediately, the complaint states. No advance notice was given, no specific cause was cited, and his salary and benefits were cancelled.
After the requirements of the employment agreement were pointed out, Rubenstein says, he received biweekly payments of $1,731, about 20% of his previous salary.
Rubenstein claims that when he applied for unemployment benefits this past May, the state Department of Labor said Syfter had indicated that he was fired for insubordination and breach of his employment agreement, making him ineligible for benefits. The state ultimately approved the benefits.
Rubenstein says he had to sell a portion of his retirement assets and a property in Connecticut, and begin psychiatric treatment for depression, as a result of Perlman”™s “wrongful conduct.”
He is seeking unspecified damages for alleged breaches of contract, tortious interference, misappropriation of ideas and skills, and unjust enrichment.
Syfter”™s and Perlman”™s attorney, Stephen E. Turman, of Uniondale, Nassau County, did not reply to an email asking for a response to the allegations.
Rubenstein is represented by White Plains attorney Jonathan Ohring.