Florida's largest medical marijuana company, Trulieve, is suing its former chief financial officer in federal court, claiming he misused his corporate credit card charging "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for expensive clothing, vacations and attorney fees and fraudulently received reimbursement for personal expenses.
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The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Florida on Friday, didn't give a precise amount of money that Alexander D'Amico allegedly took, but the company told investors in August that the estimate could be anywhere between $350,000 to $400,000 during his roughly four-year stint.
"Throughout his tenure as CFO, D'Amico surreptitiously acted as though his position entitled him to raid the corporate coffers to finance his personal largesse as if it were his own personal slush fund," the suit said. "D'Amico's expenditures included multiple vacations, thousands of dollars' worth of expensive clothing, and personal lawyer and consultant fees, all under the pretense of it being 'business for Trulieve,' but at no time seeking any corporate approval."
Additionally, Trulieve accused D'Amico of submitting reimbursement requests for the purely personal expenses he had already charged to the corporate card, essentially a "double dip" into the company's money, the suit said. On top of that, some of the items and services he sought reimbursement for were "purely fabricated expenses never incurred by him."
D'Amico resigned amid an internal audit in June 2023, according to a company statement in filings made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The suit said that when faced with "compelling evidence of wrongdoing," D'Amico refused to admit anything and submitted a written resignation. His base salary was $400,000 in 2022, according to SEC filings. Additionally, that year he had $207,000 in stock awards and options to buy 197,000 company shares.
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