Daymond John filed a restraining order against Shark Tank business, Bubba’s Q, only to have it be denied, as the LA Times reports.
In 2009, former NFL player Al Baker went on Shark Tank and secured a $300,000 investment for 30 percent of his boneless rib company. Daymond John was the shark that chose to bite as it seemed like a good idea at the time. The business experienced six digit sale numbers in their infancy and John kicked profits into overdrive.
Bubba’s Q even secured a multi-million dollar deal from Carl’s Jr. to use their ribs and sauce for a new line of burgers. The company received $16 million in profits since 2009 but the Baker family claims they’ve only received $659,000 from it, or four percent in total.
The missing funding could be attributed to the Baker’s decision to transfer their responsibility of producing and packaging Bubba’s Q ribs for wholesale to Rastelli Foods. Rastelli took over the company’s finances, packing process, and promotional side. They also maintained financial control over Bubba’s Q and had the ability to view profits. The Baker family claims they were denied access to these numbers and instead, ran off with their cash.
In response, Rastelli Foods added their name on the restraining order filed by John. The company says the Baker family made “false and defamatory statements” against them.
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The man behind Rastelli has a checkered history — on trial for 15 felonies involving staging romantic relationships with rich women online in order to swindle them out of money. Baker’s daughter, Brittani, claims a Rastelli’s help was negotiated via a payment arrangement but it wasn’t for upwards of 90 percent of Bubba’s Q sales. Brittani further stated that at one point, she maintained access to the company’s bank account but wasn’t able to withdraw funds further noting that the account balance included $100,000. She was ultimately given a check for just $8,000.
On Monday, the court ruled that the restraining order would be denied, allowing the Bakers to speak freely about the situation. Hear Brittani’s side of the story here:
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