Defendants feel the heat in Napa chef lawsuit
Explosive new allegations have been made in a lawsuit allegedly dealing with “posthumous asset manipulation” following the death of popular Napa Valley chef Michael Chiarello. db reports.
In July, db reported that the estate of the late Michael Chiarello, who owned popular Napa Valley restaurant Bottega, had filed a lawsuit claiming assets had been illegally snatched from his legacy by former friends and investors.
On Friday 7 November, Chiarello’s estate filed an amended complaint, including “newly uncovered evidence”, in Napa County Superior Court alleging forgery, fraud, and collusion by former Disney executive Rich Frank, John Hansen, and Peter Crowley, aided by former COO David O’Malley.
The filing includes allegedly falsified documents signed weeks after Chiarello’s death, as well as “shredded business records”, and internal emails that the Estate says expose “a coordinated effort to seize control of his flagship Bottega Napa Valley restaurant and related assets.”
Significant escalation
The new filing represents a significant escalation in the case and raises questions about posthumous asset manipulation, meaning the eventual court ruling could have far-reaching influence on cases brought by family estates after a family member has died.
According to the original complaint filed by the Estate in July, the defendants allegedly planned to seize control of Chiarello’s restaurants and intellectual property in the days following the chef’s unexpected death in October 2023.
“These men, who were minority investors – with absolutely no rights to direct actions or make decisions regarding the companies held by Michael Chiarello’s Estate, including famed Bottega restaurant and related business entities – moved immediately in the week he died and began taking control of everything, which amounts to theft” said Eileen Gordon, Chiarello’s widow and the Trustee of his Estate. “The evidence now in our possession is the tip of the iceberg, and clearly shows a ruthless, coordinated, and meticulously planned scheme.”
Altered documents
Among the accusations made in the new filing are that David O’Malley, while serving as COO of Gruppo Chiarello (GCI), allegedly shredded and deleted business files and handed over Chiarello’s computers and personal records — including his trust and life-insurance documents — to the minority investors and others. The Estate alleges that even after being fired as COO in 2025, O’Malley continued to access company records – in violation of confidentiality agreements – and opened bank statements and other mail.
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Furthermore, the amended complaint suggests that shortly after Chiarello’s death O’Malley altered a document by backdating it to 2017 and affixing a stamped signature of Chiarello in order to gain access to bank accounts.
The Estate accuses fellow investors Frank, Hansen and Crowley of “knowingly signing those same falsified documents as if it were 2017.”
An email allegedly sent from O’Malley to Hansen on 27 October 2023 reads: “Can you please sign this and NOT date it and scan it back to me? I can explain by phone, but we already discussed this.”
Richard Frank is the former president of Disney Studios and founder of Napa winery Frank Family Vineyards. John Hansen is general manager of a hospitality business in Rome. Both were minority investors in Bottega since the start, but the pair took full ownership of the business in June 2025. Peter Crowley, the third man fingered in the lawsuit, had been a paid advisor to Chiarello’s companies for many years.
Dismantling a legacy
“It was as if the moment Michael died, the professionals closest to him began dismantling his legacy from the inside—using the access they had to seize restaurants’ Chiarello had built, and they had benefited from for decades” said Gordon.
Chiarello was one of California’s most celebrated chefs, entrepreneurs, and culinary story tellers, who among other ventures founded restaurants Bottega Napa Valley and Coqueta San Francisco. He also hosted the Emmy-winning Food Network series Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello.
He died in 2023 after suffering a severe allergic reaction causing anaphylactic shock, which led to a heart attack.
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