Criniti’s was a ‘sh*t show’ leading up to liquidation with money missing and staff underpaid
Italian restaurant empire Criniti’s was a “sh*t show” leading up to its collapse according to one staffer, with more than $800,000 missing, staff underpaid millions and a “Byzantine” company structure.
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Italian empire Criniti’s was “like a circus” in the months leading up to its collapse, with $800,000 missing, 800 employees underpaid, franchises trading insolvent and unstable leadership.
Liquidation documents and accounts from sources close to the company paint a picture of a company doomed by bad business practices and shaky leadership.
Seven Criniti’s locations were closed from November last year, leaving six remaining, which were subsequently placed into liquidation two weeks ago, before being bought by South Australian group Brunelli’s and prevented from having to close.
Before it was taken over, Criniti’s Group owed more than $16 million to creditors, the biggest being the ATO.
As if this chain of events was not chaotic enough, a deeper dive into the business’s inner workings shows the collapse was inevitable.
Liquidators Worrells have identified huge chunks of cash, from $20,000 to $500,000, missing from store takings between March and November last year that are still unaccounted for.
Its report clearly states it is investigating whether the director and/or family members have received cash from companies in the group.
Liquidators are also still calculating the exact amount owed to staff, which is expected to be in the millions — a combination of wage theft, unpaid entitlements and unpaid superannuation for more than 800 staff across the group.
Criniti’s had failed to pay staff the correct award as well as failing to pay overtime.
Individual staff contacted by The Daily Telegraph are owed thousands each.
Worrells also identified that Criniti’s was trading insolvent as early December 1, 2018 and after that racked up debts of more than $660,000.
As the company was trading insolvent, the company director may be personally liable for these debts.
The company’s leadership had also been confusing and erratic from the perspective of staff, who claimed they were never fully aware of who was calling the shots.
The director of the whole group is listed as Frank Criniti’s mother Rosa Criniti.
Frank, Rosa, Frank’s father Cosimo and Frank’s ex-wife Rima have been rotated in and out of company positions for a decade.
Frank’s brother Dominic was the general manager until 2018 and Frank’s sister Kathy was the CEO for a short period in 2019.
Rima returned to the company August last year to attempt to turn the ship around but quickly realised it was doomed and talk of administration began.
The Daily Telegraph attained an email sent by Frank Criniti to all Criniti’s staff on August 30, 2019 that communicated how chaotic the leadership was proving for staff.
“Hi everyone,” he wrote. “Rima and I own the company thanks god. Please do not take any advice or do not pay any attention to anyone else.”
An employee who preferred to remain anonymous said the final months leading up to the administration announcement were a “shit show”.
“It was a circus by the last six months,” they said. “It really was a shit show, theatrical at times.
“He (Frank) kicked Kathy out of being CEO, the ex-wife Rima and Frank were in control, Frank sent some email to all staff saying he is in control. Then Kathy was back in charge.”
Another employee, who was a store manager, said toward the end stock orders were being knocked back due to unpaid bills.
“I constantly got called about my stock orders, saying they haven’t paid, so then I couldn’t order until an amount was paid off from a supplier.”
Currently the remaining six Criniti’s restaurants have been taken over by Brunetti Group, owned by Raj Patel, although Worrells said the deal has not been finalised.
The Daily Telegraph spoke to Rosa Criniti who declined to comment on the record.
Originally published as Criniti’s was a ‘sh*t show’ leading up to liquidation with money missing and staff underpaid
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