Owner of Winnipeg's Bouche Boucher, Ward 1 sued for alleged fraud

The former meat supplier to twoWinnipeg restaurants says the owner of the restaurants owes thousands in unpaid bills, diverted money tohimself instead of payinghis staffand failed to make good on a personal loan he used to buy a house.

Harborside Farms, a pork and beef producer in Pilot Mound, Man., is suingSteven Conner a former business partner of Harborside andthe owner ofthe restaurants Bouche Boucherand the now-defunct Ward 1 for$260,000.

Conner declined to speak with CBC about the lawsuit. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The lawsuit, filed March 23,dates back to April 2016 when Conner incorporatedBouche Boucher, a restaurant and butcher shop, and asked Harborside Farms toinvest. The family farm in Pilot Mound about 150 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg isowned by Pam andClintCavers, who took a five-per-cent ownership.

Part of the deal between thecouple and Connerincluded an agreement to supply meat to Bouche Boucherbefore getting paid.Conner agreed to pay the farm the initial cost, plus interest, after he sold the meat to customers, the lawsuit says.

The restaurant and butcher shop opened onTachAvenue in St. Boniface in October2016.

Harborside Farms alleges that the following year, Connerstopped paying them back for their meat.In March 2017, after going more than a month without being paid, the Caverses askedto take a look at the books.

"Conner provided limited and materially incorrect accounting information to the plaintiffs," their court documentsstate.

The documents state the next month, Pam and Clint Caversgave Connera loan of $12,700 so he could buy a home. He never repaid the money, they say.

Between May and September 2017, the Harborside Farms owners say, they continued to try to improve business at BoucheBoucherwhile Conner misrepresentedhow well the business was doing.

"He under reported supplier and other financial obligations of the company and promised that a restructure of the business was underway," the documents state.

Still hopingBoucheBoucherwouldrebound, Harborside Farms continued to supply meat to the restaurant until December 2017, despite not being paid, the lawsuit says.The couple now saythey are owed $101,000 formeat and other farm products alone.

In December and again in January, when Conner asked the farm to help cover payroll for staff at BoucheBoucherand Ward 1, Harborside loaned thousands to the businesses to keep them open, according to the suit.

It says Harborside later found out from the manager at Ward 1 that employee paycheques were bouncing, despite their payment. Harborsidealleges Conner used the funds for his personal expenses, including to help buy a house.

"Conner has appropriated to himself a disproportionate share of the remuneration, management fees, bonuses and other payments flowing from his ownership and management," the documents allege.

Clint Caversresigned as co-director of BoucheBoucherin February, the same month the documents say he and his wife found out Conner "grossly misrepresented" the amount of debt he owed.

A notice outsideBoucheBoucherstates that the restaurant is taking an "early spring break" in March but plans to reopen in April with a new menu. The butcher shop, the notice says, remains open.

Ward 1, which was in Osborne Village, closed in February.

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