Another lawsuit has been filed against CJF America, Courtney Jordan, and others in Durham.
WRAL Investigates has covered multiple cases of former employees who said they were never paid or were given fraudulent checks.
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Founder Courtney Jordan and Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Gallardo had outstanding warrants for their arrests in Durham and Person Counties in mid-July; in late July, the Person County Sheriff’s Office says the two led them on a high-speed chase.
Both men were later taken into custody on Aug. 3.
New lawsuit filed
In his lawsuit filed on Wednesday, 23-year-old Joseph Ayinde says he was hired in June of 2025 to be a Program Coordinator for the Courtney Jordan Group, set to be paid a $60,000 salary.
Ayinde said he was told by Nicholas Gallardo that his compensation would be delayed due to issues with payroll processing, and he continued working.
He says soon after, he was promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff by Courtney Jordan, set to receive a new salary of $360,000.
Ayinde’s suit said that a few weeks later, Jordan gave him $1,000, but as other employees began reporting fraudulent checks to media outlets, Jordan stopped communicating with him entirely.
Ayinde’s filing said he’s owed over $56,000 in pay, and he’s asking for punitive damages in an amount “calculated to punish the defendants and deter similar future conduct.”
Warrant shows how deputies found Jordan, Gallardo
A newly filed search warrant by Person County Sheriff’s Office investigators outlines how they found Jordan and Gallardo after the high-speed chase.
The warrant says the vehicle operated during the chase was a 2020 Nissan registered to a woman with a Chapel Hill address.
Investigators say they determined Jordan and Gallardo were then using a 2025 Toyota Rav4 with a Texas license plate, which they say was a rental vehicle registered to the same woman.
"The use of multiple vehicles, including rental vehicles obtained through third parties or associates, is a common method utilized by individuals attempting to avoid law enforcement detection and hinder investigative efforts,” the investigator wrote in the warrant.
The warrant says deputies executed multiple search warrants related to the investigation, including searches of the suspect vehicles and bags after the chase; they say they found multiple phones, suspected illegal drugs, laptops, notebooks with financial account info, IDs belonging to other people, and U.S. currency.
Jordan and Gallardo were taken into custody at a home in Timberlake; the warrant said deputies initiated surveillance on the property.
The warrant says that when deputies executed a search warrant at the home, they found several phones, an iPad, and receipts "appearing to document financial transactions.”
"Individuals engaged in these offenses commonly utilize multiple electronic devices to communicate with co-conspirators, access financial accounts, conduct online transactions, store identifying information, and maintain records relating to their criminal activity,” the warrant said.
Both Gallardo and Jordan are due back in Person County Court on Aug. 17.