FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — A Fresno State student said his first job at Horn BBQ started off well, but quickly turned stressful when paychecks began bouncing.
Santino Capps, a former employee at Horn BBQ in Fresno, said he enjoyed the job and the people when he was first hired but he said problems began when payday arrived.
“Things started becoming a little weird, my first paycheck ended up bouncing on me,” Capps said.
He said he was eventually paid in cash, then another check went through, but afterwards his checks kept bouncing.
Capps said he pushed to be paid what he was owed.
“I want my money. I don’t wanna be working for free,” he said. “It took like almost about a week until that they Venmoed me, my last check.”
Capps’ final paycheck issues came around the time the Fresno business was evicted from its location, about five months after it opened.
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The California Department of Industrial Relations has had 11 claims filed against Horn Barbecue across its Oakland, Sacramento and Fresno locations.
The Fresno City Attorney’s Office said the matter remains under investigation.
In response to a question about whether the case was still in the hands of the state, the Fresno City Attorney’s Office said: “The case was referred to our office by the state and an investigation in ongoing. We don’t have a further comment while the investigation is pending.”
Capps said he is now looking for another job.
A public relations firm for Horn Barbecue was contacted for comment but did not respond.
Chef Matt Horn, the owner of Horn B-B-Q, grew up in Fresno before gaining national attention and bringing his barbecue back home in January.
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The Fresno restaurant was Horn’s fourth location and his first in the Central Valley.
Capps said Horn was kind and personable, and that his main issue was how difficult it was to get paid.