A federal class-action lawsuit filed in Brooklyn alleges that Mathata “Moe” Mpela, the founder of New York City-based startup Nalane Green Solutions, recruited over 20 college and graduate students for his "Green Apprentice Program," promising hourly wages between $22 and $40. The students, from institutions including CUNY and Howard University, claim they were never paid, leading to a collective unpaid wage total of approximately $950,000.
The program aimed to mentor high school students at Transit Tech High School in East New York on green technology. Plaintiffs allege that despite Mpela’s stated mission of empowering communities and reducing environmental impact, the students were left unpaid after relocating, turning down other job offers, and investing time in grant proposals for Mpela’s ventures, such as manufacturing EV chargers in a school basement.
"I genuinely thought I’d be making a change, and I genuinely thought he was a man of vision who wanted to make an impact on the community by taking people from our community to do that," said Geovanni Luti, a 4.0 student from Howard University who moved from Texas for the position. Luti expressed concern over the safety and ethics of the proposed EV charger manufacturing, especially as he was tasked with grant proposals for it without supervision.
Julie Liu, a 26-year-old CUNY graduate student and one of the organizers of the class-action suit, stated, “It makes me feel like my interest in serving others was just weaponized for someone else’s gain.” She was promised $27 an hour as a supervisor for the previous summer's projects.
Mpela reportedly attributed the payment delays to a New York State grant, an explanation the plaintiffs' lawyers dismissed as a lie, asserting the grant was not intended for wages. Mpela also told The Post that he only owes $53,000 and blamed his hiring of the "2026 team" without confirming fiscal sponsors. He admitted in a video shared with The Post that he hired students for the most recent summer despite knowing he lacked the funds to pay them.
Students learned about Nalane Green Solutions through their university career services, with initial interviews reportedly taking place in the engineering school's dean's office at City College. CUNY has stated it is supporting its affected students and has banned Nalane Green Solutions from its recruiting systems due to unethical and illegal behavior.
Despite students from the 2025 program filing suit in April, court documents allege Mpela proceeded to recruit students from Howard University for the summer of 2026. Alana Marcial, 20, a Howard student who worked 636 hours without pay, said, “Honestly, I feel exploited.”
City records indicate Nalane Green Solutions received a $25,000 contract from the city’s education department last year, but only spent $1,700 by July of the current year. Neither Mpela nor city officials have commented on the alleged EV proposal at Transit Tech High School.