Justin Timberlake’s Wife Jessica Biel Faces Shocking Fraud, Theft Lawsuit: Employees Slam ‘7th Heaven’ Star

Jessica Biel soared to fame as the daughter with a chip on her shoulder in 7th Heaven. When she tied the knot with Justin Timberlake, with whom she has a young son, Biel seemed to have the perfect life, even continuing in her acting career while co-owning a West Hollywood eatery targeted at kids and families. Now, however, even as Jessica continues to promote The Sinner, she’s facing a shocking lawsuit that alleges Biel kept money that should have gone to employees at that restaurant.

Jessica Biel Allegedly Withheld Almost Half A Million Dollars In Tips From Staff

Amid promoting her new project The Sinner and coping with the bombshell of a lawsuit, Jessica was seen on Saturday spending time with her 2-year-old son Silas, who she shares with Justin Timberlake. Despite the stress, the Daily Mail described the 35-year-old 7th Heaven star as looking relaxed in her casual style outfit.

A total of nine employees at Biel’s restaurant in Los Angeles have come together to file the lawsuit. In addition to Jessica, the four other Au Fudge business partners are facing allegations from employees that they did not receive the tips that the eatery charged customers for private parties.

The staff members who participated in the lawsuit described themselves as facing challenges in understanding their rights, clarifying that they were “young adults new to the workforce” and area who therefore were allegedly “ill-prepared to deal with the violations of their rights in the workplace.”

Justin Timberlake’s Wife Faces Detailed Charges From Disgruntled Staff

The court documents describe how customers who had private events at Au Fudge were charged a 22 percent gratuity. However, the employees allege that they never received the tip money. In the lawsuit, staff members note that the owners allegedly initially “blamed the ‘glitch’ on converting the private event gratuities to a single manager.”

However, even after that manager was let go, employees still did not receive the tip money, according to the court documents. The lawsuit hit the media at the same time as Jessica was focusing on hyping her new show The Sinner.

Visiting the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, Biel noted that she has come to accept seeing Justin Timberlake kissing someone else on camera.

“It’s one of those weird things that when you’re married with an actor, you kind of have to be okay with [seeing him kiss someone else].”

Joking that the two never exchange fist bumps over kissing other people, Jessica shrugged off the situation.

“You just understand it, he has to do it. You just get used to it,” said Biel.

But staff members at her restaurant say that they never got used to having tips that they feel should have gone to them withheld. Now they are speaking out.

Former employees of Jessica Biel's WeHo restaurant Au Fudge claim fraud and civil theft https://t.co/zQc4buB92j pic.twitter.com/TDGiBRPwtp

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) September 16, 2017

Plaintiff Was In 7th Heaven Working For Jessica Biel Until She Faced Financial Reality

Eyewitness News reported that the employees suing Biel and the other owners of Au Fudge consist of both former and current staff members. The civil complaint includes both civil theft and fraud allegations, according to the news station.

“The 74-page civil complaint claims Biel and five other owners of Au Fudge underpaid and overworked the former employees.”

One plaintiff, Jacqueline Desage, said that she trusted Jessica at first, thinking that it was a dream come true to work for the actress. But when she faced the financial reality, it turned into more of a nightmare.

“Working for Jessica Biel was obviously a dream and who wouldn’t trust Jessica Biel? And so everything that just went on was really frustrating,” said Jacqueline.

Gap Between What Staff Members Say They Were Promised And What They Received

In the complaint, the four former staff members said their employers promised them $12 an hour plus tips. However, instead, the owners of the restaurant, including Biel, allegedly kept nearly $500,000 in gratuity that was intended for staff members. Another plaintiff, Conor Gleason, described the frustration.

“For [an] entire 18 months, we were all working tirelessly and taking home a salary that was frankly ridiculous based on the work that we were doing.”

Gleason also revealed that the employees succeeded in taking the contracts and looking over the financial aspects. He claimed that they uncovered “great discrepancies between what was supposed to go to the staff and what we actually got.”

As for a statement from Jessica and her co-owners, Radar Online quoted the attorney representing Au Fudge.

“The company does not comment on pending litigation, and looks forward to defending itself in court,” said the lawyer.

In addition to asking for nearly $500,000 in lost wages, the employees are seeking punitive damages of $1 million. Radar noted that Biel has said the restaurant was not yet turning a profit earlier this year. However, she and Justin Timberlake reportedly enjoy a “lavish lifestyle that includes a New York City penthouse,” according to the publication.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]