Investigators have arrested a former restaurant owner over failing to pay his employees more than $140,000 and misusing almost $1 million of federal Restaurant Revitalization Funds.
The 59-year-old owner of Bistro on the Falls, Marcelo Fadul, is facing charges including grand theft, passing bad checks and tampering with records.
“We have seen numerous examples of citizens using COVID Relief Funds for improper purposes,” said Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley. “This case is one of the most egregious.”
The arrest comes a year after employee Lisette Ponce reached out to News 5, saying she was not getting paid for her job at one of Fadul's restaurant — Bistro on the Falls in Olmsted Falls.
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Ponce said working at Fadul's restaurant for just one month drained her bank account. Fadul's checks bounced.
Last year, Fadul and his attorney repeatedly told News 5 he was working to pay his employees back. However, investigators now know that was only a part of his financial problems.
Fadul is now accused of using $846,720 of federal Restaurant Revitalization Funds on personal expenses, paying off debt, and buying a different restaurant, Bistro on the Falls, rather than using the money on the restaurant he applied for, Crop Bistro. Both restaurants have since closed.
The U.S. Secret Service Money Laundering Task Force made the arrest Tuesday, and Fadul is expected to be arraigned Thursday morning.
"It is a small sigh of relief to know that they were finally able to find him and bring him in," Ponce said. "However, this is not closure for us. I think there's still a lot that needs to be done. There's a lot of people that he hurt, and realistically, do I think that any of us are gonna maybe see any of our money? Probably not."
