A Maryland couple has sued a Boca Raton vending machine company and its chief executive, alleging the firm sold them an unregistered security disguised as a turnkey business opportunity, then failed to deliver most of what they paid for. Matthew and Laura Labovich, of Montgomery County, Maryland, say they handed over $135,000 for five NekoDrop vending machines but received only two, while the company that promised to run everything for them now says the venture is no longer financially viable.
The Laboviches filed suit against Alexander Pirrie and DFY Vending, LLC on August 25 in the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, according to a review of the complaint by Boca Post. The case, titled Labovich v. Pirrie and numbered 50-2026-CA-009608-XXXA-MB, has been designated to the streamline track and assigned to the circuit civil central division, with a non-jury trial order already entered and no answer or other defense filing yet on the docket, which currently lists five entries. A $401 filing fee was collected the same day the complaint was filed.
A $135,000 Pitch for Passive Income
According to the complaint, the relationship began in December 2025, when DFY Vending representative Tyler Dick pitched Laura Labovich on what he called white-glove service for NekoDrop machines. Days later, on December 30, the couple signed a vending services agreement listing five NekoDrop machines at $27,000 each, a total that court records describe as $135,000, though the same filing elsewhere references the machines as priced at approximately $150,000. DFY Vending required a minimum purchase of five machines and told the couple, per the lawsuit, that the company would do everything for them under its stated motto, “You invest. We execute.”
Court filings describe DFY Vending as a Delaware limited liability company that markets smart vending machines to customers it describes as investors, placing and managing the machines on their behalf. The agreement the Laboviches signed guaranteed a minimum of $2,500 net on a cumulative 90-day average or a full refund, and set a 31 percent royalty on gross revenue for DFY Vending. Court records show the agreement was signed on DFY Vending’s behalf by David Bateman. Alexander Pirrie, also known as Ben Pirrie, is identified in the complaint as DFY Vending’s chief executive officer, and the filing alleges, on information and belief, that the company’s principal place of business is in Boca Raton, Florida.
Only Two of Five Machines Installed
DFY Vending installed just two of the five machines, placing them in two different shopping malls, and never installed the remaining three, according to the complaint. The Laboviches say they kept paying rent, inventory costs, Wi-Fi, and insurance for the two operating machines even as the rest of the deal stalled, obligations the lawsuit says extended to third-party leases the couple had signed on DFY Vending’s word. The suit alleges that Pirrie and DFY Vending knew the company could not perform on its promises while the couple continued covering those expenses…