A Rockland logistics company claims that a government-connected business has refused to pay for nearly 10,000 Covid-19 tests administered in Bergen County, New Jersey.
Tesfast LLC of Airmont accused Fastmed LLC of New Jersey of pocketing payments for services, in a complaint filed Jan. 11 in US District Court, White Plains, and Bergen County of unfairly benefitting from the arrangement.
Tesfast claims it had an oral agreement with Fastmed to provide mobile Covid-19 testing in Bergen County. The Rockland company agreed to provide the tests, testing vans and employees, and to administer the tests and get them processed at laboratories.
The New Jersey company would handle the billing and provide supplies, according to the complaint, and the partners would share profits on a 50-50 basis after expenses.
For three weeks, from December 2021 to January 2022, the complaint states, 9,980 tests were administered in Bergen County.
Fastmed allegedly collected about $2.5 million — $251 per test — but has never paid Tesfast for its half of the profits.
Instead of paying, the complaint states, Fastmed complained that Tesfast was slow and there were “too many headaches with you guys.”
The Tesfast logistics managers include Rockland residents Simon Apel, Alexander Katz, Aaron Kraminer and Joseph Krausz. Fastmed is associated with New Jersey residents Richards Alfonja, Eric Bober, and Yonah Carlebach.
Tesfast attorney Scott Levenson argues that Fastmed and its principals fraudulently induced the deal and were unjustly enriched because they “never intended to pay them for their services.” Attempts to contact Fastmed for its side of the story failed.
The complaint does not state whether Bergen County was a party to the oral agreement, but it says the county violated a civil racketeering law by promoting the testing service for the benefit of residents knowing that Fastmed was not going to pay Tesfast. Bergen County Counsel Thomas J. Duch did not respond to a message asking for the county’s response to the allegations.
Tesfast says it lost out on more than $1 million in profits, and it is seeking three times as much in damages.