Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

SushiSamba Owners Stiffed Early Investor Out of Millions, Lawsuit Claims

By Ben Fractenberg | April 16, 2015 6:36pm | Updated on April 17, 2015 5:39pm
 A brother of one of the SushiSamba co-founders sued the owners saying he was not given an equal share in the business after investing $1 million for their expansion to Miami Beach and Greenwich Village.
A brother of one of the SushiSamba co-founders sued the owners saying he was not given an equal share in the business after investing $1 million for their expansion to Miami Beach and Greenwich Village.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

MANHATTAN — Holy mackerel!

The brother who sank money into the tony raw fish eatery SushiSamba when first spawned, is suing for $3 million, claiming he was not given his proper cut of the business.

Brian Johnson, the brother of co-owner Matthew Johnson, invested $1 million for the brand’s expansion from its initial Park Avenue location to Miami Beach and Greenwich Village 15 years ago and the owners then failed to make him an equal partner, denying him millions, according to a lawsuit filed April 8.

Owners Matthew Johnson, Shimon Bokovza and Danielle Billera approached Brian, an Ohio-based chiropractor, when they didn’t have enough capital to open the new locations, court papers said.

Brian gave the needed funds with the understanding he would be made an equal partner.

He realized that something was fishy when instead, he received a minnow-size seven percent stake in the Miami Beach restaurant and four and three quarters percent in the Greenwich Village location at Seventh Avenue and Barrow Street, according to the lawsuit.

The owners then allegedly went behind the Ohio chiropractor’s back to sell a 50 percent stake in Miami Beach, netting “millions of dollars in individual gains,” according to court papers, while Brian "received nothing as a result of the transaction."

The chiropractor also claims that hundreds of thousands of dollars from his investment were used to open a failed Chicago location without his consent. 

The high-end fusion restaurant — which combines Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine — now has locations in New York, Miami, Coral Gables, Las Vegas and London.

The original restaurant, once featured in a “Sex and the City” episode, closed in 2014 after opening in 1999. 

SushiSamba spokeswoman Joanna Cisowska said the business could not comment on the specific details of pending litigation, but that "there is absolutely no truth to the allegation and the owners will defend against this frivolous lawsuit." 

Both Brian Johnson and his lawyer did not return requests for comment.