AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q co-owner Jared Leonard sits for a portrait November 9, 2022, at his Denver, Colorado restaurant. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Jared Leonard, the once-acclaimed Evergreen restaurateur who has closed five local eateries in the past year following lawsuits and an employee walkout, is now in federal custody.
Leonard, 44, was arrested July 8 and stood before a judge in downtown Denver the next day, one month after a federal grand jury in Chicago indicted the entrepreneur on seven counts of money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud and the transportation of stolen property.
The grand jury determined that Leonard lied on pandemic aid applications in the spring of 2020, fraudulently acquired $1.9 million in taxpayer cash, and then spent those ill-gotten gains on personal expenses, including a $1.2 million house in Evergreen for him and his family.
Leonard is represented by defense attorney Jennifer Beck with the Colorado Office of the Federal Public Defender, which has a policy of not discussing cases. The charges against the Michelin-recommended restaurant owner were first reported by The Denver Post.
Leonard and his wife, Amanda, owned Campfire Lakewood and Campfire Evergreen, AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q in south Denver and AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q Steakhouse near West Wash Park, and Grabowski’s Pizza in Lakewood. The steakhouse closed last year, the Campfires and Grabowski’s in February, and the other AJ’s was seized by the state in March over unpaid taxes.
The Leonards and their companies, Campfire Concepts and SSC Hospitality, have been served with millions of dollars in court judgments and lawsuits as their small restaurant empire has collapsed. That includes a $675,000 ruling that nearly got Jared Leonard arrested.
In September, an LLC registered to fellow restaurateur Alex Seidel sued for repayment of a $150,000 loan. When Leonard and his companies ignored that lawsuit, they were ordered to pay $675,000. When Leonard ignored that, he was held in contempt of court and a warrant was issued for his arrest by Judge Heidi Kutcher in February, court records show.
“Since then, the plaintiff has learned that Mr. Leonard is planning to, or has, fled to Mexico,” Seidel’s attorney wrote to the judge, asking that the arrest warrant be expanded geographically. “Mr. Leonard is an extreme flight risk,” according to Seidel’s motion, which was denied.
So, Leonard stayed out of custody until last week, when he was arrested on criminal charges.
A glowing neon sign and firewood outside AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q on November 9, 2022. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Federal prosecutors say the restaurateur filed Paycheck Protection Program paperwork in April 2020 that falsely claimed AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q had 117 employees and annual payroll of $1.3 million, then fabricated a federal tax form to back up his claim. Leonard is said to have acquired $413,400 for AJ’s and an additional $150,000 for Grabowski’s that he didn’t deserve.
Leonard fraudulently obtained similar loans for his companies in Chicago, prosecutors say.
“Although he certified in the applications that he would use the loan proceeds only for business purposes … defendant knowingly used the loan proceeds to make purchases for his personal benefit, including the cash purchase of a personal residence in Elmgreen (sic) Colorado on or about June 17, 2020 for approximately $1.2 million,” Leonard’s indictment alleges.
The businessman will soon be transported to a jail in Chicago and the case against him will proceed there. Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to keep Leonard behind bars pending trial, which is unusual in local cases involving allegations of pandemic aid fraud.
AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q co-owner Jared Leonard sits for a portrait November 9, 2022, at his Denver, Colorado restaurant. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Jared Leonard, the once-acclaimed Evergreen restaurateur who has closed five local eateries in the past year following lawsuits and an employee walkout, is now in federal custody.
Leonard, 44, was arrested July 8 and stood before a judge in downtown Denver the next day, one month after a federal grand jury in Chicago indicted the entrepreneur on seven counts of money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud and the transportation of stolen property.
The grand jury determined that Leonard lied on pandemic aid applications in the spring of 2020, fraudulently acquired $1.9 million in taxpayer cash, and then spent those ill-gotten gains on personal expenses, including a $1.2 million house in Evergreen for him and his family.
Leonard is represented by defense attorney Jennifer Beck with the Colorado Office of the Federal Public Defender, which has a policy of not discussing cases. The charges against the Michelin-recommended restaurant owner were first reported by The Denver Post.
Leonard and his wife, Amanda, owned Campfire Lakewood and Campfire Evergreen, AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q in south Denver and AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q Steakhouse near West Wash Park, and Grabowski’s Pizza in Lakewood. The steakhouse closed last year, the Campfires and Grabowski’s in February, and the other AJ’s was seized by the state in March over unpaid taxes.
The Leonards and their companies, Campfire Concepts and SSC Hospitality, have been served with millions of dollars in court judgments and lawsuits as their small restaurant empire has collapsed. That includes a $675,000 ruling that nearly got Jared Leonard arrested.
In September, an LLC registered to fellow restaurateur Alex Seidel sued for repayment of a $150,000 loan. When Leonard and his companies ignored that lawsuit, they were ordered to pay $675,000. When Leonard ignored that, he was held in contempt of court and a warrant was issued for his arrest by Judge Heidi Kutcher in February, court records show.
“Since then, the plaintiff has learned that Mr. Leonard is planning to, or has, fled to Mexico,” Seidel’s attorney wrote to the judge, asking that the arrest warrant be expanded geographically. “Mr. Leonard is an extreme flight risk,” according to Seidel’s motion, which was denied.
So, Leonard stayed out of custody until last week, when he was arrested on criminal charges.
A glowing neon sign and firewood outside AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q on November 9, 2022. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Federal prosecutors say the restaurateur filed Paycheck Protection Program paperwork in April 2020 that falsely claimed AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q had 117 employees and annual payroll of $1.3 million, then fabricated a federal tax form to back up his claim. Leonard is said to have acquired $413,400 for AJ’s and an additional $150,000 for Grabowski’s that he didn’t deserve.
Leonard fraudulently obtained similar loans for his companies in Chicago, prosecutors say.
“Although he certified in the applications that he would use the loan proceeds only for business purposes … defendant knowingly used the loan proceeds to make purchases for his personal benefit, including the cash purchase of a personal residence in Elmgreen (sic) Colorado on or about June 17, 2020 for approximately $1.2 million,” Leonard’s indictment alleges.
The businessman will soon be transported to a jail in Chicago and the case against him will proceed there. Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to keep Leonard behind bars pending trial, which is unusual in local cases involving allegations of pandemic aid fraud.
