Cheesecake Factory Accused of Fraud Involving Fake Work Papers

A Cheesecake Factory Inc. restaurant in Pennsylvania turned into a “cottage industry” of fraud that mistreated its immigrant employees after saddling them with fraudulent work authorization papers, a new lawsuit alleges.

Five John and Jane Doe plaintiffs—each Mexican citizens and Pennsylvania residents—claim in their complaint filed Thursday with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that The Cheesecake Factory and related corporate entities schemed to hire undocumented workers like them, so that the popular restaurant chain could abuse them through forced labor “for its own financial benefit.”

The Cheesecake Factory in the Philadelphia suburb of Willow Grove allegedly “became a cottage industry of fraud and coercion” that systematically recruited undocumented workers, directing them to “specific shadowy figures to obtain fake work papers,” often on the restaurant’s premises. It then abused and mistreated them “whenever it was convenient for managers and American staff,” the workers allege.

Defendants also include current and former supervisors and unnamed private entities responsible for ensuring the safety and protection of Cheesecake Factory staff and employees.

The plaintiffs met a man in the restaurant’s parking lot, at the urging of their managers, and paid him between $100 and $180 for what turned out to be fraudulent Permanent Resident Cards and Social Security Cards with their information on it, the workers say.

They also were told to work extra hours but often weren’t paid for those hours, and had little recourse because managers intentionally short-shrifted them for the hours they worked, they alleged.

One plaintiff was scared to complain about the money he wasn’t getting paid “because he was afraid that TCF would report him to immigration authorities, humiliate him, or do something violent to him,” the workers allege. The dangers to the workers were purportedly underscored by managers “constantly” threatening to report them to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to be deported.

The workers also say they weren’t allowed to take bathroom or meal breaks and were injured after being subjected to unsafe working conditions.

The workers were victims of trafficking and forced labor because the defendants obtained their services through force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion, they allege.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the defendants violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act; order that they stop committing the violations alleged in the complaint; and award compensatory damages for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, and emotional distress.

They’re also asking for consequential and/or special damages; liquidated damages; all available non-economic damages, including pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life; punitive damages; and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

Media representatives for The Cheesecake Factory didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan LLC represents the plaintiffs.

The case is Doe A.S.M. v. The Cheesecake Factory Inc., E.D. Pa., No. 2:25-cv-03144, complaint 6/19/25.