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Eatery owner in the middle of overcharging scandal had Nev. arrest warrant

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The owner of a restaurant where some customers said they were overcharged by hundreds of dollars was a wanted man in Las Vegas.

An arrest warrant from Nevada shows some of Joe Dileo’s former employees claim he owes them thousands of dollars in back pay. Police said there was a warrant for his arrest in Las Vegas for not paying back $40,000 to a business.

Now, former employees of Small’s restaurant are sharing a similar tale of unpaid wages and strange happenings at the Elizabeth eatery since it opened in January.

“He was supposed to pay me for the month I worked for free during the set up,” said one former employee. “He owes a lot of money to a lot of people.”

They even said police visited the restaurant looking for their former manager.

Another said she got a threatening text message from Dileo shortly after telling her story to Eyewitness News.

“Here you are doing an interview. Don’t forget to tell them how much you stole from me,” the text read.

On Thursday, three more police reports surfaced, filed by customers who said Small’s charged hundreds of dollars to their credit cards.

That means police are looking into a total of five complaints totaling $2,400.

Dileo claimed a disgruntled employee ran the bogus charges, but his former employees point the finger back at him.

“He was the last one to touch those credit card receipts,” said C.A. Davis.

“I think he did it all himself,” added Adam Hodgson.

“The only person who stole would have been him. He was the only one with access to it. And even if (an employee) did, the money goes into his bank account,” Tina Joyner said.

Employees added that a couple gave Dileo $3,000 to cater their wedding just days before the business closed its doors. The former employees do not know if that money was returned.

Dileo said in a phone call on Thursday that his former employees would be paid in the next two weeks “if their claim is valid.” He continued to insist an employee stole the customers’ money.

“It was a worker. I’m still trying to identify who with my attorney. All those funds have been returned or are in the process of being returned,” he said.

But when asked about the arrest warrant from Nevada, he hung up.

So far, officials in Nevada have not said whether Dileo paid back the $40,000.

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