The U.S. Department of Justice this week moved to drop charges against Fat Brands Chairman Andy Wiederhorn.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss charges filed last year against Wiederhorn, accusing him of concealing $47 million in illicit payments from Fat Brands to Wiederhorn, his family or creditors.
“From day one, we have maintained Andy’s innocence,” Nick Hanna, Wiederhorn’s attorney and a former U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement. “We are extremely grateful that the U.S. Attorney’s Office listened to our arguments and determined, in the interest of justice, that all charges should be dropped.”
Still, the decision to drop the charges itself is controversial. In April, Adam Schleifer, the assistant U.S. attorney handling the case against Wiederhorn, was fired at the request of the White House, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Schleifer alleged that the decision was motivated in part by the prosecution against Wiederhorn.
According to data from the website Open Secrets, Wiederhorn has donated $28,577 to President Trump, the Republican party and various GOP candidates since 2019. Two-thirds of that has come since 2023—after the start of a federal investigation into Wiederhorn’s tax issues.
Wiederhorn had not donated to a political candidate in 16 years before a $1,500 donation to Trump in 2019.
But both Fat Brands and Wiederhorn have maintained his innocence from the moment the investigation was first raised. Wiederhorn himself has suggested that he’s been a target of federal prosecutors since he pleaded guilty in 2004 to tax charges and spent 16 months in prison.
“I am grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for taking a fresh look at this case and to the attorneys who worked tirelessly on my behalf and on other defendants,” Wiederhorn said in a statement. “With this indictment behind us, I look forward to focusing on the continued growth and success of Fat Brands.”
The investigation into the loans and tax payments have been a cloud over Wiederhorn and Fat Brands in the three years since the investigation was initially reported. Fat Brands stock has lost about half of its value over that period.
Wiederhorn himself stepped aside as CEO. The company in 2023 also replaced most of its board of directors with a new slate including several members of the Wiederhorn family.
In addition to Fatburger and Fazoli’s, Fat Brands owns a controlling stake in the casual-dining chain Twin Peaks, as well as Hot Dog on a Stick, Johnny Rockets, Great American Cookies, Smokey Bones, Round Table Pizza, Marble Slab Creamery, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Native Grill & Wings, Pretzelmaker, Elevation, Yalla Mediterranean, and Ponderosa and Bonanza.
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