Former owner of Michelin-recognized restaurant in Denver, indicted for alleged fraud
According to the complaint filed in a U.S. District Court in Illinois, Leonard is accused of fraudulently obtaining roughly $1.6 million in COVID relief money meant to aid small businesses through the pandemic.
According to the court document in April of 2022, Leonard applied for an economic relief loan claiming AJ's Pit BBQ employed 17 employees and had a cost of goods totaling $300,000 in the year prior to January 2020.
That same month, the complaint says Leonard also applied for a PPP loan on behalf of AJ's Pit BBQ and that the application "falsely" claimed that the restaurant had 117 employees with an average monthly payroll of more than $100k a month. With that application, the complaint says Leonard filed a fake IRS form to show payments to employees of AJ's Pit BBQ totaling over $1 million.
According to the indictment, the COVID relief money he received was used for "personal benefit" and included the purchase of a $1.2 million home in Evergreen, paid for in cash.
A federal court database shows that in mid-June, a warrant was issued in the case.
The indictment comes after a story CBS News Colorado aired in March when the entire staff at AJ's Pit BBQ walked off the job, forcing the restaurant to close.
CBS Colorado spoke with several of the employees at the time, including the restaurant's Michelin-recognized pit master, Patrick Klaiber, who raised concerns about missing wages & unpaid taxes.
Leonard, they said, had gone to Mexico months earlier, leaving them unemployed and with little recourse.
CBS Colorado received a statement from Leonard via text message at the time. He said, in part, "We built these businesses from nothing. The current staff has worked for us, with no financial risk, & have been paid fairly to do so."
Days after employees walked out of the restaurant, the Colorado Department of Revenue stepped in, seizing the building and everything inside for unpaid taxes.
CBS Colorado reached out to Leonard for comment on the federal charges he's now facing, and at the time of publishing, had not heard back.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MetLife (MET) To Report Earnings Tomorrow: Here Is What To Expect
Global insurance giant MetLife (NYSE:MET) will be reporting results this Wednesday afternoon. Here's what investors should know. MetLife beat analysts' revenue expectations by 3% last quarter, reporting revenues of $18.83 billion, up 10.6% year on year. It was a slower quarter for the company, with a significant miss of analysts' book value per share estimates and a miss of analysts' EPS estimates. Is MetLife a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free. This quarter, analysts are expecting MetLife's revenue to be flat year on year at $18.64 billion, in line with its flat revenue from the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $2.16 per share. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. MetLife has missed Wall Street's revenue estimates four times over the last two years. Looking at MetLife's peers in the life insurance segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Corebridge Financial delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 5.8%, beating analysts' expectations by 7.3%, and Lincoln Financial Group reported revenues up 4.4%, topping estimates by 1.1%. Lincoln Financial Group traded up 7.8% following the results. Read our full analysis of Corebridge Financial's results here and Lincoln Financial Group's results here. Debates around the economy's health and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts have caused much uncertainty in 2025. While some of the life insurance stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 2.9% on average over the last month. MetLife is down 5.3% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $94.14 (compared to the current share price of $75). Unless you've been living under a rock, it should be obvious by now that generative AI is going to have a huge impact on how large corporations do business. While Nvidia and AMD are trading close to all-time highs, we prefer a lesser-known (but still profitable) semiconductor stock benefiting from the rise of AI. Click here to access our free report on our favorite semiconductor growth story. StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
HubSpot (HUBS) Reports Q2: Everything You Need To Know Ahead Of Earnings
Sales and marketing software maker HubSpot (NYSE:HUBS) will be announcing earnings results this Wednesday afternoon. Here's what to look for. HubSpot beat analysts' revenue expectations by 2% last quarter, reporting revenues of $714.1 million, up 15.7% year on year. It was a strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' billings estimates and a solid beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. It added 10,319 customers to reach a total of 258,258. Is HubSpot a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free. This quarter, analysts are expecting HubSpot's revenue to grow 16% year on year to $739.3 million, slowing from the 20.4% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $2.12 per share. The majority of analysts covering the company have reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. HubSpot has only missed Wall Street's revenue estimates once over the last two years, exceeding top-line expectations by 3.1% on average. Looking at HubSpot's peers in the sales and marketing software segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Freshworks delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 17.5%, beating analysts' expectations by 2.9%, and BigCommerce reported revenues up 3.2%, topping estimates by 1.3%. Freshworks traded down 2.5% following the results while BigCommerce was up 4.6%. Read our full analysis of Freshworks's results here and BigCommerce's results here. The euphoria surrounding Trump's November win lit a fire under major indices, but potential tariffs have caused the market to do a 180 in 2025. While some of the sales and marketing software stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 3% on average over the last month. HubSpot is down 7.8% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $736.74 (compared to the current share price of $512.20). When a company has more cash than it knows what to do with, buying back its own shares can make a lot of sense–as long as the price is right. Luckily, we've found one, a low-priced stock that is gushing free cash flow AND buying back shares. Click here to claim your Special Free Report on a fallen angel growth story that is already recovering from a setback. StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Primerica Earnings: What To Look For From PRI
Financial services company Primerica (NYSE:PRI) will be reporting results this Wednesday after market hours. Here's what to expect. Primerica beat analysts' revenue expectations by 2.1% last quarter, reporting revenues of $803.6 million, up 9.4% year on year. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with net premiums earned in line with analysts' estimates but a slight miss of analysts' book value per share estimates. Is Primerica a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free. This quarter, analysts are expecting Primerica's revenue to grow 6.1% year on year to $786.1 million, slowing from the 9.8% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $5.20 per share. The majority of analysts covering the company have reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Primerica has missed Wall Street's revenue estimates four times over the last two years. Looking at Primerica's peers in the life insurance segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Corebridge Financial delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 5.8%, beating analysts' expectations by 7.3%, and Lincoln Financial Group reported revenues up 4.4%, topping estimates by 1.1%. Lincoln Financial Group traded up 7.8% following the results. Read our full analysis of Corebridge Financial's results here and Lincoln Financial Group's results here. The outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. While some of the life insurance stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 2.9% on average over the last month. Primerica is down 2.8% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $307.29 (compared to the current share price of $265.39). Today's young investors likely haven't read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next. StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.
