Ramona Singer Sued by Former Employee

Ramona Singer is being sued by a former employee who alleges the reality star underpaid and mistreated her — and defrauded Bravo by scheming the network into paying for clothes that she either already owned or eventually returned.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, a woman by the name of Lisa Taubes says she worked for the Real Housewives of New York City star from January 2016 to December 2017 doing marketing and branding for Singer and her company, RMS Fashions.

According to Taubes, when she was hired, it was agreed that she would be paid a base of $4,000 per month for a 15-20 hour commitment, and would be paid for any hours exceeding 20 hours in a month. However, Taubes claims she regularly worked in excess of 40 hours per week and on the weekends, but was still only paid $2,000 every two weeks. She also alleges Singer would contact her “at all hours during the day and night,” expecting her to “be on call round the clock,” and often demanded she perform duties outside of their agreement, including “bookkeeping, dog walking, payment of personal bills, searching for furniture and apartment decor, and other persona errands.”

Singer has not yet responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Taubes’ most serious allegation is that the Bravo star “routinely” instructed her to “engage in unethical practices by submitting false receipts to networks for reimbursement on clothes.”

“Specifically, [Singer] asked Ms. Taubes to purchase designer clothes for the filming of Ms. Singer’s show, and instructed [Taubes] to submit receipts to Bravo Cable Network for reimbursement and then asked Ms. Taubes to return the clothes for refund,” states the suit. “[Singer] also instructed [Taubes] submit fake receipts for reimbursement on clothes that she already owned and demanded [Taubes] carry out these tasks.”

Taubes claims she was fired by Singer on Dec. 13 in the lobby of Singer’s building, alleging Singer “publicly humiliated” her by pushing her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Taubes alleges that when she refused to sign the papers, Singer “shoved” her, grabbed her handbag and “overturned the contents” in the lobby.

“Several people in the lobby witnessed Ms. Singer’s demeaning conduct and Ms. Taubes, with the assistance of a doorman, collected personal belongings of her overturned handbag,” reads the suit.

Taubes is seeking the wages she claims she is owed and is suing for damages in excess of $150,000.