Two individuals have been accused of running a multi-year fraud scheme—built around promised ownership in a San Diego pizzeria franchise—that bilked would-be entrepreneurs, senior citizens and veterans out of more than $1 million.
According to the California Office of Attorney General, the alleged scheme “victimized many individuals with little to no business investment experience, leading victims to believe they were becoming legitimate business owners or stockholders.”
Related: Get your pizzeria’s problems solved by the experts at PMQ’s Pizza Power Forum, Sept. 2-4, in Atlanta
Some victims were older than 65, and two were military veterans, prosecutors said.
Court documents accuse defendants Latashia Patrice McKinney (also known as Latashia Robinson) and Lae’shaun Jacqueline McKinney of running the pizza franchise scheme from 2020 to 2023. According to prosecutors, the defendants convinced their victims that they were either purchasing stock options or franchises of a San Diego pizza chain called Perfect Pizza.
The defendants, both of whom have served prior terms in prison, were arraigned in San Diego Superior Court on a plethora of felony charges, including 11 counts of franchise fraud, nine counts of securities fraud, and multiple counts of grand theft.
Prosecutors say the two defendants convinced the victims that they would receive equity in the Perfect Pizza chain or access to public stock options but used the money for their own personal enrichment.
According to the San Diego Post, the invested amounts ranged between $5,000 and $150,000. Once the money had been handed over, it’s reported that the alleged scammers stopped returning messages and cut off communications with their “investors.”
It was a luxury sports car that blew the alleged scheme apart. According to the attorney general’s office, one victim found out that a loan had been taken out in his name, with the money going to lease an Aston Martin. That led to a lengthy investigation that soon widened to uncover a much larger fraud scheme, although many of the victims didn’t know they had been defrauded.
The two defendants were arrested and extradited from Florida, the AG office said.
Additionally, Latashia McKinney is accused of fraudulently obtaining—and never repaying— $287,000 in federal loans that were meant to provide relief for struggling businesses during the pandemic.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the “white-collar crime scheme…stole money from Californians who were attempting to become entrepreneurs or make investments into business.” Bonta added, “We won’t stand idly by if individuals cause financial harm to hardworking Californians to enrich themselves. My office will continue to fight to hold bad actors accountable and protect Californians’ pocketbooks.”
