POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – The Sugar Chest Antique Mall in Pompano Beach is closing its doors for good, and many vendors claim they weren't given enough notice to pack up their inventory.
Some of the 100 vendors at the mall told Local 10 News that they were notified about the closure via text message or phone call.
"All of these vendors have to move in three days. Can you imagine what a mess it's been?" one woman said.
Moving trucks and security were seen around the antique mall on Monday.
Dealers Local 10 News spoke with said the owners are claiming bankruptcy.
But the dealers are outraged, claiming they were given just three days to pack up everything and leave while they have yearlong contracts for their leases.
"This whole time they have not been ethical. They've not been honest," one vendor said.
Lisa Hamburg, who has been a dealer at The Sugar Chest Antique Mall for seven years, said she prepaid her yearly lease, which was $27,000, and said she was told that she won't get her money back.
"They're telling people there is no money," Hamburg said.
Hamburg also said the owners will take 10 percent of the profit for items that were sold in the last week, which is standard, but now those dealers might not get their end of the bargain.
"To pull the rug out from under us -- to steal our money -- and it is stealing because they have known that they were going to declare bankruptcy, yet they were still conducting sales," Hamburg said.
A Sugar Chest representative said the company has hired bankruptcy counsel to handle the closure.
"Our dealers will have somebody with whom they can deal for any outstanding issues," the representative said.