Chino Hills-based Roll-Em-Up Taquitos, which lists 10 locations in Central and Southern California, as well as one each in Las Vegas, Houston, Knoxville and La Vista, Nebraska, on its website, is facing lawsuits from disgruntled franchisees, one of which accused the chain of operating as a “ponzi scheme.” Additionally, the chain’s CEO and founder, Ryan Usrey, is being sued for allegedly failing to make payments on a car that he purchased in the company’s name — a $415,000 Ferrari.
The fast-casual Mexican chain, which was founded in 2019 and began offering franchising opportunities in 2021, is up against multiple allegations. In 2024, New Mexico franchisees FMP Ventures and Reserve Industries filed a lawsuit against Roll-Em-Up Taquitos, in which they accused the company of breach of contract for failing to make payments on the rights to their franchise and instead selling it to a different business. Roll-Em-Up countersued, alleging that the franchisees had failed to operate the business properly and allowed drugs to be sold at the location.
But that’s just the tip of the taquito iceberg: In 2025, another group of franchisees filed a lawsuit to the Superior Court of California, Riverside County, accusing the company of being a “Ponzi scheme masked in the guise of a restaurant franchise operation” that used money from franchisees to fund the parent company and recruit additional franchisees. It also stated that the company “gave fraudulently inflated performance numbers” to attract prospective franchisees.
The quality of the product sold — the “Mama Karen’s” taquitos, which the plaintiffs said had been promised to be “high quality” and delivered daily — was also called into question.
“Plaintiffs were consistently supplied with taquitos that were clearly frozen from questionable supplies,” the complaint stated. “Further, plaintiffs are informed and believe and therefore allege that one or more of the Corporate Stores were being supplied with taquitos that were not being made at a ‘proprietary kitchen’ but instead were being made at a personal residence without any quality control, inspection, or oversight.”
The complaint also detailed a lack of marketing or advertising support for franchisees and alleged that franchisees had to pay royalties and other fees to the company.
On April 13, Roll-Em-Up Taquitos spokesperson Amy Levy disputed the claims against the business.
“Roll Em Up Taquitos is a legitimate restaurant brand,” Levy said, according to Restaurant Business. “It is not a Ponzi scheme. It has real operating locations, customers and revenue, and expanded into franchising only after there was strong demand and interest from prospective operators.”
Levy stated that the franchisees who filed the complaint were poor operators and had been sent cease-and-desist letters. She also said that the move to frozen taquitos was at the request of franchisees and that the company has returned to making them fresh daily. SFGATE reached out to Roll-Em-Up Taquitos for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
These ongoing disputes aren’t where the legal troubles for the company end: According to a lawsuit filed in September 2024 in the U.S. District Court for Southern California, founder Usrey and Roll Em Up Franchise Group LLC purchased a 2020 Ferrari F8 Tributo in May 2022. According to the lawsuit, Usrey made his last monthly payment of $4,211.60 on the car in May 2024. According to Ferrari, he still owed $313,898.95 on the vehicle, along with fees accrued by the default in payments — and had not responded to demands that he surrender the car.