The owner of a Manhattan barbecue chain has been indicted on charges that he stole wages from five employees who washed dishes, prepped food and made deliveries for his restaurants, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Patrick Griffin, 71, owner of Au Jus, is accused of withholding more than $8,000 in pay dating back to January 2025, with some workers still owed money more than a year after they did the work.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg announced the indictment Thursday, alleging that Griffin owned and operated Au Jus, an Oklahoma-style barbecue chain, between 2019 and 2025, according to a statement from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. The restaurant operated three Manhattan locations, at 4232 Broadway, 1569 Lexington Avenue and 2621 Broadway. Griffin faces one count of grand larceny in the third degree by wage theft, a class D felony, one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree, a class E felony, and two counts of failure to pay wages under the Labor Law, each a class A misdemeanor, per the indictment filed in New York State Supreme Court.
Alvin Bragg announced the case Thursday in a post on X from the account @manhattanda
, writing that his office had charged Griffin with “stealing at least $8,000 in wages from five of his employees.”
A Pattern That Prosecutors Say Started With New Hires
Beginning in January 2025, Griffin allegedly engaged in a pattern of wage theft against workers performing food preparation, dishwashing and deliveries, the DA's office alleges. When those workers complained about unpaid wages, prosecutors say Griffin responded by replacing them and continuing the same pattern with new employees. The office also alleges Griffin made false promises of repayment to workers who pushed back, leaving some to seek new jobs elsewhere while still waiting on money they were owed.
Investigators say Griffin ignored former workers' attempts to recover their pay by text message and, in at least one case, blocked a worker's phone number entirely. Prosecutors allege he conditioned repayment on a worker returning to the restaurant, then continued withholding that worker's wages even after he came back to work. In another instance, the office alleges Griffin demanded a worker sign a document falsely claiming he lacked government-issued identification; that worker refused to sign.
Five Workers Still Waiting More Than a Year Later
According to the indictment, five workers are still owed more than $8,000 in wages more than a year after they performed the work. The case remains an ongoing investigation being prosecuted by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which says the Worker Protection Unit hotline received reports of Griffin's conduct and that the New York State Department of Labor assisted. Bragg said in the statement that “An honest day’s work deserves an honest day’s pay” and urged anyone whose wages have been stolen to call or message the office's helpline at (646) 712-0298, regardless of immigration status.
The charges are allegations only, and Griffin is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The case is being supervised by Rachana Pathak, James Hanley, Christopher Conroy, Judy Salwen and Jodie Kane, with James Clarke of the Worker Protection Unit handling the prosecution, and Haley Fitzpatrick, Elaine Li, Ava Thomas and May Dempsey providing investigative and financial analysis assistance, per the DA's office.
Part of a Broader Pattern in New York Restaurants
Restaurant wage theft is a recurring problem across the city. From 2017 through 2021, federal and state investigators found more than 13,000 cases of wage theft in New York, with more than $203 million stolen from roughly 127,000 workers statewide, according to ProPublica. Restaurants accounted for more reported wage theft than any other industry in that period, ahead of health care and construction, with more than $52 million stolen from restaurant workers alone — over a quarter of the total. More than 60% of New York City restaurant workers are immigrants, per a 2020 study cited by the outlet, and the U.S. Department of Labor estimated in 2014 that state employers steal up to $1 billion from workers every year.
The Au Jus case echoes another high-profile Manhattan prosecution. In March 2024, Grimaldi's owner Anthony Piscina and manager Frank Santora were indicted on one count of scheme to defraud and seven counts of failure to pay wages, accused of withholding $20,000 owed to seven employees through bounced checks, partial payments via money-sending apps and missed payment appointments, as reported by the New York Daily News. Au Jus and Griffin were also named, along with Philip Bozzo and Ignacio Doe, in a 2020 federal collective-action lawsuit filed by former worker Floriberto Villalva Estrada in the Southern District of New York, court records show.
