INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana authorities have filed a complaint alleging the parent company of I Heart Mac & Cheese violated the Hoosier state’s Indiana Franchise Act.
According to a news release provided by the Indiana Secretary of State, the Indiana Securities Division said Mac and Cheese Franchise Operations, LLC (MACFO), the Florida-based parent company of the fast-food chain I Heart Mac & Cheese, entered into faulty franchise agreements with seven different investors comprising 16 locations across Indiana.
I Heart Mac & Cheese is a fast-food-style restaurant that can be found in several locations throughout the country. It is best known for selling macaroni and cheese bowls and grilled sandwiches.
According to the administrative complaint, the parent company misrepresented I Heart Mac & Cheese as a restaurant “with low startup costs that required little prior business experience and a handful of employees to sell pre-made, frozen food.”
“To sell more locations throughout Indiana, MACFO also misrepresented the profitability of the franchise and demand for locations,” the complaint said.
The complaint goes on to state how franchisees were allegedly kept in the dark on startup and operational costs. The company is also accused of threatening to sue struggling franchisees and allegedly failing to provide the appropriate financial disclosure documents and relevant information related to past lawsuits.
“MACFO also provided franchisees with deficient “Financial Disclosure Documents” that were supposed to fairly disclose the risks of getting involved with ‘I Heart Mac & Cheese’ but failed to disclose important information about prior lawsuits and the business experience of the executives running MACFO,” the complaint said.
The release added that multiple franchisees reportedly lost significant amounts of money while attempting to keep the locations operating.
The Indiana Securities Division issued a Cease-and-Desist Order in May of last year to rescind MACFO’s registration, meaning there are currently no active I Heart Mac & Cheese locations in Indiana. One of the former restaurants was located on West 10 Street in downtown Indy.
“When individuals use deceptive means to convince victims to invest, our Securities Division is committed to safeguarding the time and money of these Hoosiers. Business owners across our state work hard to keep their doors open and have enough challenges to overcome, they should not have to deal with misleading methods,” said Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales.
