61

Credit: Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins

When thinking of famous house flippers, Tarek El Moussa‘s name is one of the first to come to mind. This is mostly thanks to his time on Flip or Flop with his ex-wife, Christina Hall. Now, not only is Tarek back on TV, but it seems drama from his professional past is also back to haunt him. Multiple lawsuits have surfaced from a former employee claiming threats and other forms of workplace abuse.

Fans were first introduced to Tarek in 2013 when Flip or Flop premiered on HGTV. The show ran for 10 seasons. Now, he’s on a new show, which is called The Flip Off. He stars in it with his new wife, Heather El Moussa, and his ex. So far, the show is said to be a hit when it comes to viewership. 

According to The Daily Mail, Tarek has had multiple lawsuits filed against him by Jeffrey Revoy, who is a former employee of Tarek Buys Houses. The first of the two lawsuits was from 2023, and it was also against the co-founder of the business, Peter de Best, along with Tarek Buys Houses and Digital Foundation Group (DFG). The suit was filed in August of that year, and it was over breach of contract, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, assault, and failure to prevent harassment and retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment Housing Act.

Fast forward to February 2024, and Jeffrey filed another lawsuit. This one was in California and against Tarek and TEM Capital Management, which is his real estate investment firm. This lawsuit was for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good and faith and fair dealing, and breach of fiduciary duty. 

Of course, Tarek put up a fight and defended himself against the legal accusations. In June 2024, Tarek and DFG filed a countercomplaint against the former employee for the 2023 lawsuit. Their countersuit accused Jeffrey of Tort of Another, Breach of Fiduciary Duties, Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage, and Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage.

Jeffrey began working for Tarek and his company in September 2021. He was then terminated in July 2022. He feels his employers terminated him “in retaliation” because they “learned or guessed that Revoy had formally complained about Debest.”

He added that they were “further motivated by financial pressures,” and he assumes his former bosses thought they could “save money by not paying Revoy’s compensation or his contractual severance.” Notably, Jeffrey didn’t receive his severance or pay for accrued time off. Additionally, he didn’t receive his earned income right away. 

It’s also important to note that Tarek’s countersuit denies that Jeffrey was ever an employee of DFG. Instead, he says the man was considered for the CEO role and that he “unilaterally inserted himself into DFG’s business and attempted to secure an equity position for himself in DFG.”

Regarding the allegations in the lawsuit, Jeffrey says that “El Moussa lost his temper and threw a sandwich at one of his assistants, complaining that it did not have mustard.” The suit continues, “Finding this incident highly upsetting, an unknown member of the production crew filed a complaint reporting the incident to HGTV Human Resources. On information and belief, no formal action was taken by HGTV Human Resources because the person struck by the sandwich was not an employee of HGTV.”

That’s not all. The documents continue, “On the same day, a long-time employee of El Moussa (who worked directly with him) submitted a letter of resignation in which she reported ‘inexcusable’ behaviors, including ‘screaming, yelling, cussing and calling names.’”

Tarek was also accused of using threatening language toward Jeffrey and other employees. He recalled that on one occasion, “El Moussa, enraged by Revoy pointing out El Moussa’s responsibilities to the entity and its shareholders, aggressively said to Revoy, ‘F**k you, Jeff, I’m going to destroy you in 2023.’” This was after Tarek refused to enter a vote on business matters despite it being a part of his role in the company. 

There are also allegations that Tarek took $250,000 out of DFG and claimed that HGTV owed him money, which is why he needed additional funds. 

As a result of the alleged abuse, Jeffrey has “suffered psychological and emotional distress, humiliation, and mental and physical pain and anguish, in a sum to be proven at trial.” Jeffrey is seeking a jury trial and $25,000.00. This is for the first lawsuit. There is a jury trial scheduled for July 2025 for the second lawsuit, in which Jeffrey wants a full accounting of TEM. 

This is a developing story.