Democratic congressional candidate Brian Varela is being sued for allegedly sticking a supplier with $143,000 in unpaid invoices and then selling the company without disclosing the debt.
Allergan Aesthetics claims that Varella ran up a six-figure tab after buying a CoolSculpting machine for a spa he owned. Varela says the new owner, Diane Ahn, knowingly assumed the company’s debts when she took over and is now trying to shift liability for bills she agreed to pay.
Varela has loaned $1,150,000 to his campaign for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district, where he is seeking to challenge two-term Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield).
The lawsuit names Exit Strategies LLC, which did business as Spa Society, and Ahn as defendants, alleging breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and related claims stemming from unpaid invoices for aesthetic products delivered between 2022 and 2023.
According to the complaint, Allergan provided Botox and other injectable products to the spa under a supplier agreement that required payment within 30 days, but the balance ballooned to more than $143,000 with interest after repeated payment demands went unanswered. Varela disputes the 30-day money terms.
Varela, who sold a controlling stake in the company in mid-2023 and later exited entirely, disputes that he concealed the debt. He says the outstanding Allergan balance was disclosed during the sale process and reflected in documents provided to Ahn.
In court filings, his attorneys argue that the sale agreements explicitly shifted responsibility for existing and future liabilities to the new owner, and that Ahn’s attempt to pull Varela into the case is a bid to deflect blame for debts that continued to go unpaid after she assumed control of the business.
The quarrel has spilled into a third-party complaint between the former partners, with Ahn accusing Varela of misrepresenting the company’s financial condition when he sold her the business, and Varela countering that any outstanding supplier balances were fully disclosed and memorialized in the transaction documents.
Varela’s attorneys point to provisions in the sale and transfer agreements that they say made Ahn responsible for “any and all liabilities” of the spa, including vendor debts, and argue that Allergan’s claims are a straightforward collection action unrelated to his client’s current political campaign.
Emmett Shell, Varela’s campaign manager, pushed back on his candidate’s liability.
“While Brian owned the company, it had an agreement with Allergan regarding payments that it fully met. During the time of Brian’s ownership, the company made over $100,000 in payments to Allergan, no lawsuit was brought and it continued to have an ongoing productive relationship with Allergan,” said Shell. “Brian is a successful, self-made small businessman. Any attack saying that he acted in any way other than upstanding in his businesses is patently false.”
Reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show Varela with over $1.4 million cash-on-hand as of December 31.
