Ramzi Naber

In Katherine Magbanua's 2022 retrial, Ramzi Naber, the former owner of Club Fate, testified on Day 4 about the nightclub's operations, employee compensation, and Katherine Magbanua's work there as a cocktail server for about three months. He estimated that her tips would not have exceeded the typical $200 to $250 earned on a good night.

Naber explained that employees generally kept cash tips, while credit-card tips were reported through payroll. He said employee paperwork kept at the office had been destroyed by water damage after a roof leak and that any remaining payroll records would have been with the payroll company. He also identified photographs of the club's location and exterior that the court admitted as State's Exhibits 86E through 86H.

On cross-examination, defense counsel tested the limits of Naber's income estimates, including cash-tip amounts he did not know, his recollection of law-enforcement contacts, and his access to employment records. Naber said law-enforcement records would be more reliable than his memory about the timing of those contacts. On redirect, he confirmed that customers commonly added tips to credit-card purchases for food, bottles, and drinks.