Leronce Suel, 47, the majority owner of Rockstar Dough LLC and Chicken Feed LLC, which operated several now-shuttered San Diego-area restaurants including Streetcar Merchants in North Park, Suckerfree Southern Plates & Bar in the Gaslamp, and ShotCaller Street Soul Food in Lincoln Park, was convicted in September 2024 of wire fraud, conspiracy, and tax-related charges following an eight-day trial. The U.S. Attorney's Office revealed that Suel and his business partner, Ravae Smith, underreported over $1.7 million in gross receipts on Rockstar Dough LLC’s 2020 corporate tax return to qualify for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants, programs designed to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pair falsely certified that the funds would be used for eligible expenses like rent and payroll, but instead made substantial cash withdrawals from their business accounts, purchasing a $975,000 home in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Federal agents discovered $2.4 million in cash hidden in Suel’s bedroom during a June 2022 search, of which Suel was ordered to forfeit $1,466,918. He was also mandated to pay $1,773,245 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration, with further restitution to the IRS to be determined at a hearing on June 6, 2025.
Suel's fraudulent activities reportedly extended beyond COVID relief. He allegedly failed to file federal tax returns from 2014 to 2022, despite earning significant income from his restaurants, which leveraged food delivery services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Postmates to boost earnings during the pandemic. In 2023, after the cash seizure, Suel hired an accountant to file original and amended returns for those years, but these included false depreciable assets and business losses, further compounding his tax evasion. Text messages between Suel and Smith, uncovered by prosecutors, detailed their efforts to manipulate financial records to secure the relief funds.
Smith, who was also indicted in May 2023 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, passed away of unknown causes in December 2023 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, at the age of 45. Suel proceeded to trial alone, where the jury found him guilty on 11 counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the federal government, tax evasion, filing false returns, and failing to file returns, though he was acquitted of money laundering charges. He was sentenced on Friday, April 11, 2025.
The case, U.S. v. Suel (case number 23-CR-0965-RBM), was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, with U.S. District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro presiding.
Suel's fraudulent activities reportedly extended beyond COVID relief. He allegedly failed to file federal tax returns from 2014 to 2022, despite earning significant income from his restaurants, which leveraged food delivery services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Postmates to boost earnings during the pandemic. In 2023, after the cash seizure, Suel hired an accountant to file original and amended returns for those years, but these included false depreciable assets and business losses, further compounding his tax evasion. Text messages between Suel and Smith, uncovered by prosecutors, detailed their efforts to manipulate financial records to secure the relief funds.
Smith, who was also indicted in May 2023 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, passed away of unknown causes in December 2023 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, at the age of 45. Suel proceeded to trial alone, where the jury found him guilty on 11 counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the federal government, tax evasion, filing false returns, and failing to file returns, though he was acquitted of money laundering charges. He was sentenced on Friday, April 11, 2025.
The case, U.S. v. Suel (case number 23-CR-0965-RBM), was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, with U.S. District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro presiding.
Originally published on April 11, 2025.