A lawsuit filed yesterday alleges that a Unity businessman -- who owns Wellington Square in South Greensburg and a string of fast-food restaurants -- and his wife defaulted on a $2 million loan.
Richard and Lisa Hoffman were accused by Cadles of Grassy Meadows LLC of Newton Falls, Ohio, with fraudulent conversion and unjust enrichment in connection with Burger King restaurants that they own in Western Pennsylvania.
The Hoffmans borrowed $2 million in 2000. In the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Cadles seeks $2.2 million from the Hoffmans for allegedly defaulting on that loan, with payments stopping in 2001.
Richard Hoffman would not comment on the suit.
Hoffman's company, Richmic Fast Food LLC, borrowed $2 million from Atherton Capital Inc. in 2000, it said. The loan later was sold to Franchise Holding II LLC, which obtained a judgment against the Hoffmans, according to the suit.
In 2006, Franchise Holdings sold the debt to Cadles.
In 2007, U.S. Judge Thomas Hardiman entered a judgment in favor of Cadles for more than $2.2 million.
The suit accuses Richard Hoffman of transferring ownership of Richmic Fast Food to another company, Hoffman Food Venture. In 2002, Hoffman transferred his interest in the new firm to himself and his wife without notifying Cadles of the ownership change, the suit says.
Attorneys for Cadles said it took two years of "painstaking discovery" before Richard Hoffman was forced to turn over financial documents "from which Cadles was able to piece together the fraudulent transfer, " the suit says.
Cadles alleges Hoffman made the ownership change to shield himself from creditors.
Hoffman owned a Popeyes Chicken and Biscuit restaurant in North Versailles that is the subject of a legal battle. Shrager Centiniela LLC of Pasadena, Calif., sued Hoffman last year for defaulting on lease payments for the restaurant.
The company alleges Hoffman owes it more than $1.6 million, according to Allegheny County court records.
