The ongoing murder trial of Indian-origin CEO Tushar Atre has unveiled disturbing details about the cannabis entrepreneur's management style, with one of the accused killers revealing that Atre forced employees to perform 500 pushups to receive their paychecks.
The Brutal Murder and Arrests
Tushar Atre, the 50-year-old founder of AtreNet and Interstitial Systems, was kidnapped and brutally murdered in 2019. Four suspects were quickly apprehended: 23-year-old Joshua Camps, 22-year-old Kurtis Charters, 22-year-old Stephen Lindsay, and 19-year-old Kaleb Charters, who is Kurtis's younger brother.
According to court proceedings, Kurtis Charters and Stephen Lindsay have already been convicted of first-degree murder in separate trials earlier this year. Kaleb Charters's trial commenced this month, where shocking workplace allegations surfaced.
Hostile Work Environment Exposed
Kaleb Charters testified that he worked at Atre's cannabis farm for just ten days in August 2019. The employees labored from dawn to dusk with an agreed daily wage of $200. However, the situation deteriorated when Atre discovered a missing truck key and subsequently bounced their paychecks.
"Atre once humiliated them over the lost keys," Kaleb told the jury. Even after the keys were found, Atre rebuked them for wasting his time. The confrontation escalated when Atre demanded the workers perform 500 pushups to receive $1,400 - $600 less than the $2,000 they were owed for ten days of work.
Several former employees have corroborated these claims, describing a fear-based work environment where Atre routinely withheld payments, shouted at staff, and fired employees arbitrarily.
The Fatal Kidnapping
The tragedy unfolded when multiple assailants broke into Atre's coastal estate. Witnesses reported seeing the CEO being forced into a white BMW. Hours later, his body was discovered at one of his Santa Cruz Mountains properties.
Investigators determined that Atre had been stabbed, kidnapped, and then shot to death. The court heard that Lindsay and Kaleb had initially planned a robbery at Atre's property, but the situation spiraled into chaos when Atre attempted to escape after being stabbed and shot.
Atre was simultaneously running two successful ventures: AtreNet, a corporate marketing firm, and Interstitial Systems, a cannabis company operating a marijuana farm and laboratory in the Santa Cruz region. The trial continues as more details emerge about the circumstances leading to his tragic death.
