Federal authorities said Friday they charged Fat Brands and its chair, Andy Wiederhorn, of committing a brazen scheme that netted him $47 million in bogus loans from the restaurant company that owns Fatburger, Johnny Rockets and Twin Peaks. Fat Brands, Wiederhorn and a few other people were criminally indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles for wire fraud, tax evasion and other counts related to the alleged scheme. In a separate civil complaint, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the company and Wiederhorn of violations related to the same conduct. “These charges are unprecedented, unwarranted, unsubstantiated and unjust,” Fat Brands counsel Brian Hennigan said in a statement. “They are based on conduct that ended over three years ago and ignore the Company’s cooperation with the investigation.” Wiederhorn, who was convicted two decades ago in a criminal case that involved similar conduct, was separately criminally charged in an indictment in Los Angeles of being a…
