One Atlanta strip club is in some serious financial trouble.
According to the Project Q Atlanta magazine, Swinging Richards, which is an all-male strip joint, has file for bankruptcy protection and also created a Go Fund Me page (which later mysteriously disappeared).
1400 Northside Drive Inc., the parent company for the club, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Gerogia on May 2. If approved, the business will be allowed to stay open as it tries to turn around its financial luck.
Before this, a Go Fund Me Page was created on April 29 to raise $1 Million with the hopes of covering the club’s legal problems.
“Help us keep Swinging Richards swinging proudly,” the campaign said. “A recent court decision and overly aggressive lawyers looking for profit, have caused us to reach out to the community for help. Don’t let them shut us down!”
The page, however, was later taken down without explanation.
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But why did Swinging Richards need the financial help? Well, there were several reasons but most involved not properly paying talent.
More than two-dozen former dancers sued the club in 2014 for not paying minimum wage and for charging several fees in order to perform.
“As a result of these unlawful practices, Plaintiffs and the Collective suffered and continue to suffer wage loss and are therefore entitled to recover unpaid minimum wages for up to three years prior to the filing of their claims, liquidated damages or prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, and such other legal and equitable relief as the Court deems just and proper,” attorney Nicholas Kaster says in the lawsuit.
The club now owes the dancers $667,000 under a Fair Labor Standards Act settlement.
That number then adds onto Swinging Richards’ overall debt. Swinging Richards owes more than $1.65 million to its creditors, according to the bankruptcy filing reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
That said, the strip joint is expected to pay their dancers as, despite filing for bankruptcy, the business is continuing to make money.
Sources: Project Q Atlanta, The Atlanta Business Chronicle
