Embeya Restaurant Co-Owner Attila Gyulai Pleaded Guilty to Wire Fraud Over Investor Money

Case from 2018–2020 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Feb. 12, 2018; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Attila Gyulai, who with a relative held a majority stake in Embeya, a restaurant in the 500 block of West Randolph Street in Chicago's West Loop, was charged in February 2018 with wire fraud for allegedly misappropriating at least $300,000 to the detriment of co-owners and investors from about 2011 to 2016 [1].

Outcome: Gyulai pleaded guilty on Nov. 7, 2019, to one wire fraud count of the indictment, according to the court docket [2]. On Feb. 25, 2020, U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber sentenced him to time served, which the Chicago Sun-Times put at about five months in custody, plus three years of probation and $125,000 in restitution [3].

What prosecutors alleged

According to the criminal complaint, as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

1. A borrowed stake: To open the restaurant and get a bank loan, Gyulai told shareholders that he and his relative had put in $140,000 of their own money. The complaint says he had actually borrowed it from family and friends.
2. Repaid with company money: In 2013 he allegedly used company funds to repay those lenders, hiding the payments from other shareholders.
3. Paid twice: In 2014 he allegedly paid himself and his relative about $140,000 more as a supposed return of their initial capital.
4. Personal use: The complaint says he used company funds for personal expenses and personal stock trading.
5. The final wire: Not long before Embeya closed in 2016, he allegedly wired $103,750 from the restaurant's account to an overseas account and left the United States soon after.

The amount at sentencing was smaller than the complaint's figure. Judge Leinenweber described the $125,000 taken from the restaurant as "not negligible" but not among the "most serious" fraud cases, the Sun-Times reported [3].

The person charged

Attila Gyulai (45 when charged)

• Complaint (Feb. 12, 2018): one count of wire fraud; a warrant was issued for his arrest [1].
• Arrest: The Sun-Times reported he was arrested in Spain in December 2018 [3]. He made his initial appearance in Chicago after an arrest on May 31, 2019, according to the docket [2].
• Plea (Nov. 7, 2019): guilty to count three of the indictment, a wire fraud count [2].
• Sentence (Feb. 25, 2020): time served, three years of probation and $125,000 in restitution. Prosecutors had asked for a year in prison [3]. The court also granted the government's motion for a preliminary order of forfeiture, and the judgment was entered March 12, 2020 [2].
• Investigation: FBI Chicago [1].

Red flags for small-business investors

• A managing partner who controls the bank account alone and resists sharing statements.
• Claims about the founders' own cash contribution that you can't verify with bank records.
• "Return of capital" payments to insiders while the business is struggling.
• Large transfers to overseas or unfamiliar accounts.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Insist on regular financial statements and the right to inspect the books in your operating agreement.
2. Require two signatures for large withdrawals or transfers.
3. Report suspected misuse of investor money to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Attila Gyulai	N.D. Ill. (Judge Leinenweber)	Charged Feb. 12, 2018; pleaded guilty Nov. 7, 2019, to one count of wire fraud; sentenced Feb. 25, 2020, to time served, 3 years' probation and $125,000 restitution	[1], [2], [3]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Chicago Restaurateur Charged with Fraud for Allegedly Swindling Investors in His West Loop Eatery," Feb. 12, 2018. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/chicago-restaurateur-charged-fraud-allegedly-swindling-investors-his-west-loop-eatery
2. CourtListener, docket for United States v. Gyulai, No. 1:18-cr-00096 (N.D. Ill.). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/8481162/united-states-v-gyulai/
3. Stefano Esposito, "Justice is served: Former restaurant owner won't spend any more time behind bars in fraud case," Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 25, 2020. https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2020/2/25/21152969/embeya-owner-fraud-federal-court-attila-gyulai-west-loop

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