Two men have been charged with embezzling over $1.4 million from a restaurant in St. Louis County, Missouri. Matthew Braasch and Mark Erney were indicted on two counts of wire fraud each in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis on February 20, 2025.
Both individuals turned themselves in to authorities and pleaded not guilty—Erney on Friday and Braasch on February 25.
According to the indictment, Braasch and Erney held high-level positions at a restaurant located in Grantwood, St. Louis County. They allegedly assured company managers that their use of company credit cards would be limited to necessary business expenses but instead used them for personal purchases.
The indictment details Braasch's expenditures, including $81,965 at Target, over $31,000 at Vineyard Vines clothing store, $39,634 at Amazon, and more than $10,000 on local hotel stays for an acquaintance. Additional expenses included $1,600 for a golf outing, $2,460 for RV storage fees, $5,425 on St. Louis Cardinals tickets, and $2,681 for a Disney World vacation.
Erney is accused of spending $155,696 on personal expenses through Amazon and more than $37,000 at other local bars and restaurants. He also reportedly spent $5,600 on two couches and nearly $3,943 at a men's health products supplier.
The indictment claims that the embezzlement left the restaurant unable to purchase food or pay state taxes such as liquor taxes. To cover these shortfalls, loans were taken out by Braasch and Erney. Furthermore, Braasch allegedly impersonated a restaurant manager when state investigators attempted to collect back taxes to prevent real managers from discovering the situation.
It is important to note that charges in an indictment are accusations and do not prove guilt; defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
The FBI conducted the investigation with help from the Missouri Department of Revenue's Criminal Tax Investigation Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is leading the prosecution.