D.A. Bragg Announces Wage Theft Indictment Of Midtown Restaurant For Stealing $35k From Workers

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. today announced the indictment of CRISTIAN GALLON, 30, FRANK FELIX, 66, GALLON INC., FJ 48 CORP. D/B/A LA MACARENA RESTAURANT & SPORT BAR for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in wages from their employees at La Macarena Restaurant & Sport Bar at 234 West 48th Street between September 2021 and January 2025. CRISTIAN GALLON, FRANK FELIX, GALLON INC., FJ 48 CORP. D/B/A LA MACARENA RESTAURANT & SPORT BAR are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Failure to Pay Wages in Violation of the Labor Law among multiple other charges. [1]

"Hard working New Yorkers allegedly had their wages stolen by their employers at La Macarena Restaurant & Sport Bar, who used the money to fund Gallon's lavish lifestyle. Manhattanites deserve to be paid for their work, and my Office will ensure accountability for bosses who take advantage of their employees," said District Attorney Bragg. "This is an ongoing investigation - please call our Worker Protection Unit at (646) 712-0298 if you may be a victim."

As alleged in court documents and statements made on the record, between September 2021 and January 1, 2025, GALLON stole tens of thousands of dollars in wages from his employees at La Macarena Restaurant & Sport Bar, which closed in January 2025. GALLON used two companies to operate La Macarena: FJ 48 Corp. d/b/a La Macarena Restaurant & Sport Bar ("FJ 48"), the official entity, registered to the La Macarena address, that held the liquor license, and of which FELIX was the President; and Gallon Inc., Gallon's solely-owned company registered to his home address.

Between September 2021 and January 2025, GALLON consistently failed to pay kitchen staff and front-of-house employees. GALLON repeatedly paid employees weeks and months late and bounced over $270,000 in paychecks to over 80 employees, including more than $10,000 in bounced paychecks for certain employees. GALLON only issued $45,000 in replacement checks for these bounced checks. In 2024, Gallon stopped issuing paychecks and switched to the payment application Zelle, although he continued to pay employees weeks late, if at all. In doing so, GALLON ignored weekly email reminders from his payroll-tracking service that payroll was due. GALLON also ignored an official visit to La Macarena from the New York State Department of Labor in 2024, related to his non-payment and late-payment of employees.

When workers complained about bounced checks and missing weeks of pay, GALLON allegedly made excuses-including that the restaurant wasn't making enough money, or that he was having problems with his bank or the IRS-and promised to pay his employees so they would continue to come to work. At times, GALLON made some payments after these complaints.

GALLON further allegedly told his employees that it would be harder for him to pay them if they left. When warned about high employee turnover due to his failure to pay, GALLON stated that he would simply hire new people.

Six employees are still each owed between approximately $2,000 and $13,000, for a total of over $35,000.

As further alleged, while La Macarena earned over $5,000,000 in sales receipts between 2021 and 2025, GALLON never filed or paid New York City Business Corporation Tax.

Companies doing business in New York City, including restaurants, are required to file annual tax returns and pay the applicable General Corporation Tax. Neither FJ 48 nor GALLON INC. filed such returns or paid any such taxes for the years that La Macarena was in operation. FJ 48's tax liability for 2022 was $24,422, and for 2023 was $12,854. GALLON INC.'s tax liability for 2022 was $6,789, for 2023 was $27,832, and for 2024 was $8,058.

Of the over $5,000,000 in sales receipts, GALLON deposited over $1,784,000 into FJ 48 bank accounts, and over $2,100,000 into GALLON, INC., bank accounts. GALLON spent over $270,000 of those deposits on personal expenses, transferred over $400,000 to his own personal accounts, and transferred another $34,500 to FELIX's accounts. GALLON also spent over $1,247,000 of the total receipts directly from the La Macarena point-of-sales system, including just under $450,000 in personal expenditures.

GALLON allegedly used hundreds of thousands of dollars of these funds to support his lifestyle, including on vacations to Hawaii, Miami, Qatar, Colombia, and Jamaica; at nightclubs and bars; at concerts and music festivals; on shopping at Balenciaga, Gucci, and more; on excursions such as a helicopter ride, and on OnlyFans.

Assistant D.A. Meredith McGowan (Rackets Bureau) is handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Christopher Conroy (Chief of the Rackets Bureau) and Judy Salwen (Deputy Chief of the Investigation Division), and Executive Assistant D.A. Jodie Kane (Chief of the Investigation Division).

The following members of the D.A.'s Office provided valuable assistance during the investigation: Assistant D.A. Kristin Rainis, Paralegals Seton O'Scannlain and Julianna Brown, former Investigative Analyst Simon Otero; Forensic Accountant Investigator Jeffrey S. Leap and Associate Financial Investigator Matt Cazilas, Privilege Review Data Specialist Olivia Savell; Technology eDiscovery Analyst Roshard Nicholls, Supervising Digital Forensic Analyst Douglas Daus, Sergeant Genesis Cornielle, Investigators Haley Fitzpatrick, Genesis De Luna, Brigitte Jaramillo, Antonio Shilinsky, and former Investigator May Dempsey.

D.A. Bragg thanked the New Immigrant Community Empowerment, the New York State Department of Labor, particularly Investigative Specialist Ann Chen and Chief Labor Standards Investigator Frank King, and the New York City Department of Finance, particularly Group Chief Giselle DeCamps-Guthrie and Auditor LaToya Fleming.

Defendant Information:

CRISTIAN GALLON

Queens, NY

• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, one count
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, two counts
• Failure to Pay Wages in Violation of the Labor Law, one count
• City Tax Fraud in the Third Degree, three counts
• City Tax Fraud in the Fourth Degree, two counts

FJ 48 CORP. D/B/A LA MACARENA RESTAURANT & SPORT BAR

• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, one count
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, two counts
• Failure to Pay Wages in Violation of the Labor Law, one count
• City Tax Fraud in the Third Degree, two counts

GALLON INC.

• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, one count
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, two counts
• Failure to Pay Wages in Violation of the Labor Law, one count
• City Tax Fraud in the Third Degree, one count
• City Tax Fraud in the Fourth Degree, two counts

FRANK FELIX

New York, NY

• Failure to Pay Wages in Violation of the Labor Law, one count
• City Tax Fraud in the Third Degree, two counts

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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.