RICHMOND, Va. -- The owner of a cleaning business has filed a lawsuit against the owner of a Richmond cafe, claiming he was never compensated for a job his business completed.
Best friends Forrest Rowe and Stephan Robinson had always dreamed of owning a business together. Tragically, their mutual plan to do business together would become a solo venture after Robinson died of sickle cell.
"He and I always talked about opening up a car wash or detailing or some sort of cleaning business," said Rowe.
Motivated to fulfill that vision after being laid off from another job, Rowe started Dream Team Cleaning Solutions in 2022.
"When we were kids playing basketball, rough neighborhoods and stuff that’s where dream team, we were the dream team growing up," he said.
He described the grind to get clients as difficult, especially in the beginning. So, he was glad when a Richmond business "The 4 Cyber Cafe" on West Broad Street, agreed to hire him for work.
"We started August 28. We buffed their floors, scrubbed them, and polished them. We did not strip it. We also did a deep clean," Rowe said.
He said the bill came out to $614, as written on invoices he showed CBS 6.
"We went there and told us that funds would be released as discussed," Rowe said. "We would be compensated on the 12th of September."
Rowe said to ensure all of his clients are satisfied with the work his team does, he has each client sign a form agreeing that everything listed was completed up to their standard. "This doesn't just protect the work that we do with our client it also protects Dream Team," he said. "This is the first form that they signed on August 28."
After the general manager of The 4 Cyber Cafe signed both completion forms, Rowe said he was expecting to be paid in full.
Now almost two weeks later Rowe claims they have yet to be paid. He said he reached out to CBS 6 after feeling like the 4 Cyber Café’s owner Mario Mohan was giving him the runaround.
"We did the work, you signed off on it, we would like our money please," Rowe said.
CBS 6 spoke with Mohan off camera, he tells us that his former general manager should have never signed the completion forms, as the cleaning wasn't up to his standard.
"I really took offense to him acting like this because that affects not just me but my employees and my staff, it also affects our supplies," Rowe described.
He said this situation taught him a valuable lesson, but he hopes Mohan will do right by his business and adhere to their agreement. "This is a lesson for everyone to always have some sort of payment arrangement upfront… it’s something that we were not expecting another business to do to another business," Rowe said.
Rowe filed a lawsuit against The 4 Cyber Cafe for the unpaid invoice in small claims court last Thursday.
Mohan tells CBS 6 he believes that going to court is the best way to resolve the situation.
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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