New York’s Club Nebula Partner Richie Romero Sues Credit Card Company Discover for $1 Million After ‘Identity Fraud’ Case

NYC Nightlife Veteran, Richie Romero, is suing Discover as the company pursued him to repay Credit cards that were opened with his stolen identity.

Richie Romero, a NYC hospitality guru and club Nebula partner, is pursuing legal action after credit card company Discover continued to chase him to repay credit cards opened by someone who stole his identity. The thief has since been identified and has confessed to opening the credit cards, pushing Romero to pursue action.

Richie Romero is a NYC native and has worked at iconic NYC nightclubs like Tunnel and The Limelight. Having been in the circuit since the 90s, Romero has made a name akin to Ian Schrager, a founder of Studio 54. One of these business ventures was Midtown nightclub Nebula.

For Nebula, Richie Romero partnered with co-founder of MIXX Lifestyle Group, Yang Gao. The duo set out to create a nightclub that focused on dancing. Manhattan nightclubs are known to cater to VIP and bottle service which create a lounge-like feeling. Nebula opened in 2021 and has had famous DJs like Gryffin, Eric Prydz, and Jamie Jones play the venue. While Nebula still caters to bottle service, the venue’s atmosphere has left the lounge feeling in the past.

While Nebula has been successful, Richie Romero has lost multiple business deals due to bad credit. A few years ago, Romero had his identity stolen, and the thief opened up fake credit cards with Discover. The criminal was eventually caught and confessed to the crimes, but Discover doubled down on Romero and pursued him to repay the thiefs cards. He refused and is now suing Discover Bank for $1 million.

In Richie Romero’s most Instagram post, he says that Discover has caused him “years of hell, time and damage.” From losing his business deals due to poor credit to being treated like a criminal, Romero continues by saying he is not the only one. He mentions others have been treated terribly by Discover and mentions the compliance failures that have plagued the company. Because of these compliance failures, Discover was audited by the FDIC and is getting sued by its investors.

Richie Romero is a true New Yorker. Having experienced the NYC nightlife scene in the 90s, he has proved he is not someone who will just roll over. After having his identity stolen and then having his credit ruined by Discover, he has had enough and is seeking reparations as “Discover was willfully blind to clear evidence of identity theft.”