Harper Bovberg gets some pizza boxes during a shift at PanHandler's Pizza on Thursday, March 20, 2025 in Fort Collins, Colo.
San Diego, California – A pair of defendants have been arrested and arraigned in San Diego Superior Court for orchestrating what state prosecutors describe as an elaborate, multi-year fraud scheme that siphoned over $1 million from would-be entrepreneurs, senior citizens, and military veterans under the guise of pizza restaurant franchises and public stock options.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the charges Monday, calling the alleged scheme a “white-collar crime operation” that preyed on Californians with little to no business investment experience—many of whom believed they were building a path toward ownership or financial independence.
According to court documents, defendants Latashia Patrice McKinney (also known as Latashia Robinson) and Lae’shaun Jacqueline McKinney ran the scheme between 2020 and 2023. Prosecutors say the duo promised investors equity in a pizza restaurant chain or access to public stock options, but instead used the funds for personal enrichment. Victims invested amounts ranging from $5,000 to $150,000, with some later discovering that the business opportunities they believed they had secured did not exist at all.
After receiving payments, the defendants reportedly stopped returning messages, cutting off communication entirely in some cases within weeks. In addition to the franchise and stock scheme, Latashia McKinney is also accused of fraudulently obtaining $287,000 in federal pandemic relief loans meant for struggling small businesses—loans that prosecutors say were never repaid.
The investigation began in 2021 when one victim, who believed he had invested in a pizza franchise, discovered that a loan taken out in his name was being used to lease an Aston Martin. That discovery led him to contact law enforcement. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered dozens of other victims—many of whom had no idea they had been defrauded.
The defendants now face more than two dozen felony counts, including eleven counts of franchise fraud, nine counts of securities fraud, and multiple counts of grand theft. The California Department of Justice has also added a special allegation for aggravated white-collar crimes involving losses over $500,000.
The case shows exactly how financial exploitation often targets those seeking a better future through entrepreneurship, especially in the wake of economic hardship. It also reflects a broader concern over pandemic-era relief programs, which have become a magnet for fraud while oversight continues to lag.
Attorney General Bonta emphasized that his office is committed to holding perpetrators accountable. “We won’t stand idly by while Californians are deceived and defrauded,” he said in a statement. “Our job is to protect the public, especially those who are most vulnerable to financial exploitation.”
The defendants were arrested in Florida and extradited to San Diego with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service and Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. Their next court date has not yet been set.
