Mathata Mpela sued for nearly $1M in unpaid student wages

A federal class-action lawsuit has been filed in Brooklyn against Mathata “Moe” Mpela and his company, Nalane Green Solutions, alleging the theft of nearly $1 million in unpaid wages.

According to court documents, Mpela recruited more than 20 college and graduate students from institutions including Howard University and the City University of New York (CUNY) for a “Green Apprentice Program.” The students were promised hourly wages ranging from $22 to $40 to mentor high schoolers in green technology at Transit Tech High School in East New York.

Plaintiffs claim that despite relocating or turning down other professional opportunities to participate in the program, none of the workers received any compensation. One student, Geovanni Luti, reported that his work involved drafting grant proposals for the manufacturing of electric vehicle chargers, a task he described as unsupervised and potentially dangerous. The lawsuit seeks to recover approximately $950,000 in owed wages.