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Stylist busted for alleged fraud sues Saks, claiming ‘calculated campaign’ to destroy his reputation
Suhail Kwatra says that when Saks heard he was considering a job elsewhere, the luxury retailer “responded not with negotiation, but with retaliation.”
A former Saks Fifth Avenue personal shopper accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a long-running scheme is now suing Saks, alleging the luxury retailer waged a “calculated campaign” to destroy his reputation.
Previously:
Once hailed as a “stylist to Boston’s most fabulous socialites,” 43-year-old Suhail Kwatra now faces a criminal charge as authorities allege he made fraudulent refunds, mismanaged “promo cards,” gave unpaid merchandise to clients, and abused a corporate card. A complaint filed in Boston Municipal Court last month put the total losses at about $429,400.
But in a Suffolk Superior Court lawsuit filed Tuesday, Kwatra claims the company’s allegations were not only bogus but part of a “vindictive and unlawful scheme” to publicly trash him and “ensure that he could not take his talents, clients, or relationships elsewhere.”
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The flashpoint, according to Kwatra: A job offer from a competitor.
“When Saks learned that Kwatra was considering an opportunity with a competing luxury retailer — and when he declined to accept a retention bonus without assurances about his future global role — Saks responded not with negotiation, but with retaliation,” the complaint alleges.
Saks has not filed a response to his lawsuit, nor did the company respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Kwatra is scheduled for arraignment on the larceny charge Jan. 30.
For more than two decades, Kwatra was among Saks’s most profitable and influential personal stylists, bringing in millions of dollars in annual revenue as he fostered ties with luxury brands and “elite clients,” according to the lawsuit.
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While Saks frequently ran promotions that awarded clients gift cards based on how much they spent, Kwatra maintains he had no ability to create gift cards on his own — they could only be issued through an official Saks offer, or with a manager’s credentials.
According to the lawsuit, a manager at Saks’s Boston outpost created a “stash” of gift cards so stylists could reward high-spending clients. Kwatra says he openly used the cards to “strategically retain clients and enhance their loyalty to Saks” — a practice he claims the retailer not only condoned but encouraged.
Kwatra further alleges that his managers instructed personal stylists to “clean out” long-standing unclaimed merchandise that clients had purchased but never picked up. He claims the managers also encouraged stylists to take “abandoned” merchandise home or distribute it to other clients as gifts, and he posted photos of himself in the clothing “knowing that Saks condoned and benefited from this practice.”
Stylist says purported confession letter was signed under duress
After confronting Kwatra about the alleged fraud in November, Saks provided Boston police a handwritten letter in which the stylist purportedly apologized, offered a dollar figure for the estimated loss, and agreed to pay the money back, according to the criminal complaint.
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However, Kwatra’s lawsuit offers a different version of events. He alleges Saks only got him to sign the promissory note through “coercion, intimidation, and deception—promising confidentiality and no criminal prosecution, and intimidating him from leaving until he signed the documents.”
According to the lawsuit, two employees from Saks’s asset protection team took Kwatra to a secluded office and pressed him to estimate the total value of unclaimed merchandise and gift cards he had given away, also grilling him about his use of a corporate credit card.
Kwatra felt trapped, according to the complaint, and “fearing public humiliation, criminal charges, and irreversible damage to his reputation,” he signed the note.
After Kwatra signed the letter, however, he says Saks went back on its word and contacted law enforcement, reached out to his clients, spread “false and misleading information,” and interfered with his job offer, which the competitor promptly withdrew.
Kwatra is looking to have the promissory note deemed void and unenforceable. He’s also accused Saks of breach of contract, defamation, false imprisonment, and tortious interference for the rescinded job offer.
“Why would Saks deploy such extraordinary resources against a single former stylist?” the lawsuit demands. “Because Kwatra’s departure posed an existential threat to Saks’ business relationships.”
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