A Penobscot County business kept all of its employees’ tips and some of their wages for five years.
The Maine attorney general brought the court proceeding on behalf of the Bureau of Labor Standards against Maine Ride Detailing LLC, doing business as East Coast Coatings, and MRD owner Mostafa Elfaham. The company, which has had multiple locations in Penobscot County, and Elfaham must pay $104,191.95 in unpaid wages and liquidated damages.
The money will be paid to the Maine Department of Labor, which will distribute the money to affected employees, an Aug. 6 court order from Kennebec County Superior Judge Daniel Mitchell said. The company must also pay $35,684 for a civil penalty to the department.
The total amount owed is $139,876, according to Mitchell’s order.
During 266 pay periods, Maine Ride Detailing did not pay employees “timely and in full,” and did not pay credit card tips to employees, the order said.
A total of $29,982.80 of credit card tips were paid by customers between Jan. 1, 2020, and March 14, 2025. None of those tips were paid to employees in that time frame, the judge found. The money will be distributed among 29 employees.
In the same time frame, Elfaham either failed to provide pay statements, or the ones he did provide did not have credit card tips on them, the order said.
Maine Ride Detailing and Elfaham owe $69,461.30 in liquidated damages, according to the order. Liquidated damages help compensate employees after they essentially provided an employer an interest-free loan when wages weren’t paid, according to Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards Jason Moyer-Lee.
“Ensuring that workers are paid for every hour they work is a top priority for the Department,” Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said Thursday. “We are committed to upholding the law and supporting fair and responsible businesses. When violations occur, we will use all the available tools at our disposal to hold unethical employers accountable and to secure the wages and damages owed to workers.”
Fortman’s department will start working to collect the unpaid wages and liquidated damages, she said.
An unnamed person reached Monday through the Facebook page “East Coast Coatings – formerly Maine Ride Detailing” said Maine Ride Detailing went bankrupt in 2024, and this person restarted East Coast Coatings as a separate entity. When asked why the Facebook page and website have the same names, the person said, “Its not for you to understand.”
The person went on to in reference to East Coast Coatings being named in the court order, “Were not the same company. This isn’t even my facebook.” The person also said “employees always get paid at the end of the day.”
East Coast Coatings moved to 30 State St. in Brewer in early January, according to Facebook. A Feb. 19 Facebook post from “Mo,” said he is the full-time owner and works with someone named Zach.
Maine Ride Detailing and Elfaham did not comply with court orders to provide discovery during the lawsuit and did not appear during the final hearing, according to an order from Mitchell. Two former employees testified at the hearing and numerous pieces of evidence were presented, including receipts for credit card tips, payroll records and employee complaints.
