Story by Ethan
On April 8th, 2026, the indictment of Mahmut Unver, and Red Lions Food Corp. was announced by Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donelley. Mahmut Unver and Red Lions Food Corp. were charged with first-degree Scheme to Defraud, second-degree Grand Larceny, two counts of Failure to Pay Wages When Due Under Labor Law, and Willful Failure to Pay Contributions. The arrest and charges against Mahmut Unver and Red Lions Food Corp. were a result of an investigation handled by Nassau County District Attorney Detective Investigators and the New York State Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance Division.
According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the defendants were operating as the restaurant business of Anatolia Mediterranean & Grill when they employed an unnamed individual from May 15th, 2025, until December 31st, 2025. The new hire was tasked with being a chef, cleaner, and server, all under the agreement of being paid $1,500 a week for the several months of working at the restaurant. However, in contradiction to Mahmut Unver’s initial agreement the defendant only paid a total of $4,200 to the employee. According to the employee’s hours worked over the seven month period, Mahmut Unver and Red Lions Food Corp. underpaid the victim by $33,200. Another employee at Anatolia Mediterranean & Grill who was working as a server and busser from May 15th, 2025, until October 31st, 2025, was only paid a total of $913.00 which is less than the $1,000 that Mahmut Unver allegedly agreed to pay. This victim worked an average of 11 to 12 hours six days a week which according to the minimum wage law she should have been paid a total of $25,157. It’s alleged that approximately $58,357 was the total amount of wages that was underpaid to the two aforementioned employees. In addition to the alleged underpayment, Mahmut Unver allegedly drafted a handwritten agreement on May 27th and 30th, 2025, for the first victim to become an owner to 50% of Red Lions Food Corp. for $50,000. On June 23rd, 2025, a typed agreement that superseded the first written one stated that Mahmut Unver would own 50% of Red Lions Food Corp. while each of the victims would own 25% each still for a total of $50,000. Both employees paid their shares for their partial ownership as per the agreement, however in November and December of 2025 Mahmut Unver fired both employees under the pretense of them complaining about not getting paid. Allegedly the defendant never returned any of the $50,000 of investment money from the victims or recorded either of their interest for any ownership. It’s also alleged that Red Lions Food Corp. failed to pay unemployment insurance from December 1st, 2024, to December 31st, 2025, according to records and documentation obtained by the New York State Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance Division. Mahmut Unver surrendered himself to Nassau County District Attorney Detective Investigators on April 8th, 2026.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Mahmut Unver and Red Lions Food Corp. are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
