Red Lobster creditors say former owner used Endless Shrimp to enrich itself

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Red Lobster's former controlling stakeholder steered the restaurant to buy more of its shrimp in order to line its own pockets, according to a lawsuit from creditors of the restaurant chain.

According to the suit, filed last month in Orange County, Florida, seafood supplier Thai Union Group treated Red Lobster as a distribution arm for its own products, even when that hurt Red Lobster, paving the way to its bankruptcy in May 2024.

The alleged self-dealing culminated with Red Lobster's disastrous Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion in 2023, which offered customers unlimited servings of shrimp for $20. The lawsuit says the deal generated tens of millions of dollars in overpriced shrimp orders for Thai Union while hammering Red Lobster's operations and bottom line.

The lawsuit was filed by the Red Lobster GUC Trust, which was formed in September of 2024 in part to pursue litigation against Thai Union on behalf of Red Lobster's lenders.

It names 13 defendants, including Thailand-based Thai Union and affiliates; the company's CEO, Thiraphong Chansiri; and Paul Kenny, a Thai Union employee who also se

Fuente original: Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/red-lobster-creditors-former-owner-190514464.html)