MIAMI – A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment unsealed today charging two people with allegedly operating a decades-long bribery and money laundering scheme that defrauded thousands of sub sandwich franchise owners nationwide of more than $80 million.
According to court records, Janet Risi Field, 66, of Pinecrest, and her brother, Steven Louis Risi, 70, of Coral Gables, participated in a scheme in which vendors seeking contracts to supply Restaurant Chain-1 franchisees allegedly paid millions of dollars in secret bribes and kickbacks to Risi Field and members of her family.
Restaurant Chain-1 was an American multinational fast-food chain with more than 20,000 locations in North America, most of which were independently owned and operated by franchisees. Independent Purchasing Cooperative, Inc. (IPC), a Miami-Dade County-based nonprofit organization, managed the chain’s North American supply chain and negotiated with vendors to establish the prices franchisees paid for food, supplies, and services.
Risi Field helped form IPC in 1996 and served as its CEO until December 2021. In that role, she had authority to enter into vendor contracts that affected the prices paid by thousands of franchisees.
The indictment alleges that Risi Field abused that position by entering into a secret arrangement with co-conspirators who acted as brokers for IPC vendors who supplied franchisees with goods and services, including deli meats, cheeses, and cookies. Under the arrangement, the brokers allegedly shared a portion of the fees generated from vendor contracts with Risi Field and members of her family. Risi Field, her brother, and other family members allegedly used shell companies to conceal more than $60 million in illegal bribe and kickback payments.
Risi Field allegedly used proceeds from the scheme to remodel and furnish residences in Florida and North Carolina, make private investments, purchase more than $400,000 in jewelry, pay personal expenses, and fund memberships in private clubs. The Indictment further alleges that beginning in the early 2000s, Risi Field caused a co-conspirator to fund a multimillion-dollar slush fund used to enrich herself and members of her family, including more than $420,000 paid to a Risi family personal assistant and more than $150,000 to Risi Field’s housekeeper and handyman.
In approximately 2011, Risi Field allegedly caused a co-conspirator to pay approximately $8 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a former IPC contractor who had alleged that she maintained an inappropriate financial relationship with IPC vendors. Risi Field allegedly concealed the allegations and details of the settlement from IPC’s Board of Directors.
Risi Field and Risi also allegedly conspired to launder millions of dollars in proceeds from the scheme through shell companies and bank accounts they controlled. According to the indictment, approximately $3.4 million in alleged proceeds was used to pay Risi Field’s credit card expenses and approximately $1 million was deposited into a bank account for which Risi Field and Risi were the sole signers. In total, Risi Field allegedly caused approximately $25 million in slush fund payments, primarily for the benefit of herself and other co-conspirators.
The Indictment alleges that Risi Field concealed the bribes and kickbacks from IPC’s directors and Restaurant Chain-1 franchisees throughout her employment. When IPC terminated her employment in 2021, its Board of Directors allegedly remained unaware of the payments and paid Risi Field more than $6 million in severance.
Risi Field and Risi are both charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Risi Field is also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services wire fraud, two counts of honest services wire fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
If convicted, Risi Field and Risi face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering conspiracy count and 10 years in prison on each monetary transaction count. Risi Field also faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the remaining charges.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Quenton Sallows of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Miami Region, made the announcement.
FBI Miami and FDIC-OIG are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eli S. Rubin and Roger Cruz are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset forfeiture.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 26-cr-20405.
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