Andrew Wiederhorn pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. His bond was set at $1 million.The indictment also alleges that multiple transfers of hundreds of thousands of dollars were made from Fat Brands accounts to pay his personal American Express credit card debts.
The federal indictment also names Fat Brands Inc. as a defendant, along with Wiederhorn's accountant, William Amon, and former Fat Brands CFO Rebecca Hershinger. While at Fat Brands, Wiederhorn allegedly received distributions of about $47 million in company funds -- disguised as "shareholder loans'' -- that were used for his personal use. The indictment alleges that he used the company funds "to fund the purchase of private-jet travel, vacations, a Rolls Royce Phantom, other luxury automobiles, jewelry and a piano.''