MOORHEAD — While companies were seen picking up their equipment at O'Leary's Pub & Grill Wednesday, Jan. 22, a former employee says workers are still waiting for their money.

An employee of the south Moorhead bar, which announced on Monday that it would be closing its doors indefinitely, claims a bank has declined a final paycheck during two attempts to cash it over the past two days.

"You have rent, you have food, you have families, and all of a sudden the money isn't there," said the employee, who asked to remain anonymous.

The business issued employees a last check for several hundred dollars, but the workers haven't been able to cash them, said the employee, who remembers asking a teller if the business's account was closed after the check bounced.

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"The clerk just nodded her head," the employee said.

The bar is owned by Barrett Prody, who made headlines several times in the last decade, most recently regarding a dispute over hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent a lawsuit alleged his businesses owed to a property company.

Prody once owned JT Cigarro in Fargo, but lost control after he was arrested in connection to a domestic incident. In 2009, he made national headlines for starting a website to raise money for embattled football legend O.J. Simpson, who at one point dated his sister.

Ross Nilson of Nilson Brand Law, a civil litigation lawyer not involved with O'Leary's or its employees, said it may be tough for workers to get their pay if the business doesn't have any money.

"You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip," he said.

In general, he recommends employees first try and call their boss to get the problem squared away. If that doesn't work, he recommends sending a certified letter that demands a response within seven days.

If that doesn't work, Nilson recommends then filing a wage claim with a state labor department. It's a move that could mean a bigger paycheck, he explains.

"(Back pay) starts to accrue interest (and) typically you can also be entitled to other penalties," Nilson said.

However, without knowing the true financial situation at O'Leary's, Nilson admits there is a chance employees won't ever get paid for those final shifts.

"That's the additional problem people run into at this point, there's nothing to collect from and they are left holding an empty pail," he explained.

But the employee WDAY spoke with plans to fight for every penny.

"The money is mine, I want it," the employee said.

Several attempts to reach the new management and Prody were unsuccessful.