MIAMI — Juan Arturo Gutierrez, founder of Pollo Campero, is suing the fresh-Mex chain and other related companies.
Last week a new action was filed in a Delaware State court related to an ongoing high-profile fraud dispute involving the owners and executives of Pollo Campero.
According to the complaint filed in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, the plaintiff alleges that Juan Jose Gutierrez Mayorga, the president of the Delaware corporations, Campero USA Corp. and Campero Inc., illegally transferred assets to facilitate a fraud scheme and defeat the purpose of a lawsuit in Florida.
"Juan Luis Bosch and Dionisio and Jose Gutierrez Mayorga have enjoyed a status of impunity for many years in Guatemala, and now they are seeking to export this impunity to the United States," said Juan Jose Rodriguez, an attorney representing Juan Arturo Gutierrez, a Canadian citizen and original founder of Pollo Campero. "The conduct of the defendants, both before and after the filing of the original actions in Florida, demonstrate a distinct lack of respect for the authority of the courts, and an unwillingness to respond to the allegations on the merits."
The plaintiff alleges that the defendants transferred valuable assets and corporate opportunities — such as the franchise rights to Pollo Campero — into Delaware corporations so as to deprive Lisa, S.A. of the value of its Pollo Campero shares and defeat the purpose of a Florida lawsuit to recover those shares after a sale induced by fraud. Since the filing of the Florida lawsuits in 1999, the defendants have also stopped paying dividends on the plaintiff's shares.
"Lisa, S.A. has been significantly damaged by the fraudulent conduct and mendacity of the defendants," said Mark Cymrot, counsel to the plaintiff. "We look forward to fair hearings to address our complaints."
