We reported in February that 16 wage complaints had been filed against Baristas in just the past few years. That information came from a public records request.

Shortly after that story aired, even more complaints were filed.

Since then, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has been able to recover more than $2,000 from a Baristas bank account to go toward those employees.

Before You Sell A Business: Advice From UW Law Professor Jane Winn Hire your own professional (lawyer/accountant/someone to represent your interests). You can't afford not to if you're selling your business. If the counter-party hands you a contract, chances are it represents his or her interests -- not yours. If you want changes to the contract, ask for a mortgage ore a lien on personal property so you're protected if the other side doesn't deliver. If the counter-party refuses to add any liens or protections, consider it a red flag and don't enter into a business agreement. If a reasonable request for a normal modification of a form contract is turned down, that's a clue the other party is not to be trusted. Do business background checks on Dun & Bradstreet. Visit a local library or the UW law library to educate yourself on your rights.

An L&I spokeswoman said Baristas president Scott Steciw has promised to pay more than $2,000 that the company still owes but so far, that promise has not been fulfilled.

Which seems to be how Baristas sometimes does business.

Just ask Steve McDaniel. He now manages the Everspring Motel on Aurora Avenue in Seattle, but he used to own two bikini espresso stands. McDaniel said he agreed to sell his stands to Baristas' owner Barry Henthorn in 2009 $1 million in stock options and a full-time, high-paying job.

"I became the vice president of development of their organization on August 3, 2009, at a salary of $135,000 a year," McDaniel said recently.

Around that same time, Sarah Araujo sold her two coffee stands to Baristas in exchange for shares in the company and a full-time job as director of communications. Her mother, Ruth Mano, recalled the deal.

"They’d pay off her debts, and they’d give her stock in the company, and they’d even employ her," Mano said. "(For) $4,100 a month."

But Araujo’s parents said that she only received a couple of paychecks, that at least one of them bounced, "and the creditors that she owed money to still came after her for money,” her father, Daniel Dixon said. "Even though, according to the legal contract she signed, Baristas was supposed to have paid all these people off."

Shortly after Araujo sold her business, she was diagnosed with leukemia and died months later. Her parents said their daughter had hoped to fight Baristas in court, claiming the company didn't honor the contract that both sides had signed.

"You would assume they would hold to their word, especially if it’s in a legal document," Ruth Mano said.

Steve McDaniel did sue Baristas.

"I spent $40,000 in attorneys’ fees," he said. "I ran out of money. My attorneys withdrew and I lost everything in default. My family went bankrupt. We lost our house. We lost our cars. Everything went wrong."

McDaniel admitted his case failed in part because he tried to take his stands back forcibly. But University of Washington law professor Jane Winn said the contracts both McDaniel and Araujo signed with Henthorn are legally binding.

Amy Clancy: "From a legal stand-point, are these contracts enforceable?" Winn: "These look like pretty conventional, boilerplate form contracts for the purchase and sale of a small business."

Winn said she believes Baristas should be on the hook for what was agreed to in the contracts. However, she said it can be difficult to collect.

"In any business transaction, the legal written form only backstops the relationship," Winn said. "The real source of performance is the other person’s personal integrity. So you need to think critically about who you’re doing business with, and you need to think about the likelihood that they’ll perform or not before you start thinking about the written contract."

Still McDaniel would like to see some kind of resolution.

"I think they need to be exposed for who and what they are," he said. "They’ve hurt a lot of small business owners in this community."

Mano said she just can't believe Baristas hasn't been forced to take any action.

"Such a shady business," she said. "It’s amazing to me that they haven’t been brought to justice. It amazes me how people can do this. It just amazes me."

KIRO 7 asked Barry Henthorn and Baristas president Scott Steciw for on-camera interviews, but Steciw never responded and Henthorn declined.

In an e-mail, Henthorn wrote, "None of our former owners have expressed any dissatisfaction to us directly that has not been resolved."

Henthorn’s also wrote in the e-mail that the company has "resolved the former issues, and have worked with the governing authorities to ensure strict compliance in the future."

However, according to L&I spokeswoman Elaine Fischer, Baristas still owes the state $2684.10.