Eva Longoria's Beso restaurant and Eve nightclub in Las Vegas face new legal challenges in the form of a sexual harassment complaint and allegations about unpaid taxes.
The restaurant and club at CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Jan. 6 and lately has filed financial reports indicating it's running at about a breakeven pace since the bankruptcy.
Court records, though, show Beso attorneys will have to deal with new allegations of wrongdoing by the business.
Megan Mynatt, who said she was hired as a cocktail server about the time the business opened in December 2009, has filed a $300,000 claim as a creditor against Beso, charging she was sexually harassed and then wrongly fired on Nov. 17.
Her Las Vegas attorney, Kristina Holman, asserted allegations in the claim of violations of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 including discrimination based on sex, assault, battery, hostile work environment, retaliation, defamation and infliction of emotional distress.
Holman couldn't be reached for elaboration on the allegations.
Beso has not yet filed court papers responding to the claim. Beso's bankruptcy attorney, Lenard Schwartzer of Schwartzer & McPherson Law Firm in Las Vegas, said little was known about the claim except Mynatt's bare-bones filing as a creditor.
Hollywood attorney Robert Shapiro, who represents Longoria, said he was confident the claim didn't involve Longoria.
Separately, Beso investors Mali Nachum and her husband Ronen Nachum filed a complaint in the bankruptcy case Tuesday against Beso alleging fraud and that the business failed to pay taxes after they were removed from the business.
Tuesday's complaint said that after Beso opened and made "hug profits," Mali Nachum "was able to ensure that significant pre-opening debts and bills were paid, rent payments were made to (landlord) Crystals at CityCenter and all taxes were paid."
But after Beso investors Longoria and Jonas Lowrance realized how profitable Beso was, they created a plan to "oust both Ronen Nachum and Mali Nachum from Beso, so that they could retain more profits for themselves," the complaint alleges.
Attorneys for the Nachums say in court briefs that Ronen Nachum was falsely accused of stealing from the company and that Beso has failed to repay the Nachums' $280,000 they loaned to the business for its construction costs.
The complaint further alleged that "Beso has failed to pay state, federal and sales taxes since they ousted the Nachums in May 2010."
Tuesday's complaint said Beso's debt owed to the Nachums should not be canceled by the bankruptcy court.
"The debtor committed fraud and the monies it owes to the Nachums should be non-dischargeable," the filing says.
The filing also seeks a declaration that Mali Nachum is not personally liable for Beso's alleged failure to pay state, federal or sales taxes as "Lowrance and Longoria removed her as management and prevented her from rectifying and/or paying said taxes."
Beso has not yet filed papers responding to the complaint.
But its attorneys in a March 29 filing wrote that in early 2010: "Due to cash flow issues resulting from the down economy, the alleged skimming of cash from Beso by Ronen Nachum and the failure of Beso to meet financial projections, Beso began having difficulty in making payments to its contractors, vendors and its landlord when they came due."
"After the completion of the tenant improvements, Beso also discovered the alleged mismanagement and illegal conduct by Mr. Nachum in the middle of 2010 as it attempted to figure out why it was unable to pay bills as they became due," the filing said.
Attorneys for Ronen Nachum have denied the skimming and mismanagement allegations.
Brooke Bohlke, an attorney for the Nachums with the Las Vegas law firm Callister + Associates, said Thursday that the Nachums have been denied access to Beso's books and records -- but that through the bankruptcy case they're seeking access to those records and will be able to use them to disprove the allegations against them.
She said that for a company that generated gross revenue of $14.6 million in 2010, yet was unable to pay all its bills, the Nachums feel "A lot of things just aren't adding up."
As for the tax issue, the Nevada Department of Taxation has filed a claim of about $539,000 for taxes due prior to the bankruptcy -- including $47,000 in penalties and $15,000 in interest.
Shapiro, Longoria's attorney, said in an interview Thursday that because of prior mismanagement at Beso and the difficult economy, the business couldn't pay some Nevada sales taxes in 2010 -- and that through the reorganization it plans to come current on taxes. All other taxes were paid, he said.
Shapiro said that now, Longoria and her partners are confident Beso and Eve will emerge stronger from the bankruptcy.
That's because they have a strong business concept, the right management in place and the support of MGM Resorts International, owner of landlord Crystals at CityCenter.
"We believe we'll be successful, as does MGM," Shapiro said.