Amy’s Baking Company Owner Amy Bouzaglo’s Criminal Past Surfaces After 'Kitchen Nightmares' Meltdown
An epic meltdown on Facebook, following a disastrous appearance on “Kitchen Nightmares,” put Amy’s Baking Company on the front page of numerous websites. The Facebook rants went viral, but it turns out owner of Amy’s -- Amy Bouzaglo -- has a criminal past.
The Bouzaglos have a history of not reacting well to criticism. In an incident from 2010, Amy insulted and attacked a Yelp reviewer who panned her pizza and his meal, reports Phoenix’s Chow Bella blog. Amy’s response included this rebuttal, “As for you having the Patio all to yourself unless you have been living on another PLANET it is summertime in ARIZONA MORON!!! Only TRAMPS and LOSERS want to sit outside in 110 temperatures!!!!”
But in addition to not reacting well to criticism, it seems Amy of Amy’s Baking Company has been in trouble with the law. While Samy claims to be a “mobster,” his wife served 14 months in jail while paying $36,294.95 in restitution for bank fraud.
According to the court documents filed in the United States District Court in Arizona, “On November 6, 2003, Ms. Bouzaglo (formerly known and identified in this case as Ms. Bossingham), entered into a plea agreement with the Government in which she pled guilty to one count of Misuse of a Social Security Number, a class D felony offense. (Doc. 40). The criminal conduct occurred on August 16, 2001. Specifically, Ms. Bouzaglo pled guilty to submitting an application for a line of credit with M & I Bank using the social security number of another person.” Amy was arrested on Oct. 11, 2002.
The court documents note that Amy, following her conviction, had turned her life around. During the time she committed bank fraud, she had just lost her mother and was recently divorced. After being convicted, Amy married Samy, distanced herself from past associates and established Amy’s Baking Company. The documents also note, “Ms. Bouzaglo donates her time and money to various organizations, such as the St. Nicholas Youth Organization and the Fraternal Order of Police. She is also very involved in the Arizona Republican Party and volunteered numerous hours of her time during the 2006 elections.”
Amy’s request for a modification of sentence was denied and she served 14 months in jail, according to the court documents. As part of the conviction, after jail Amy would have 36 months of supervised release. The bank-fraud conviction occurred in 2001 and the court noted she was serving four years of probation “by the Fourth Judicial District for Colorado Springs for the similar offenses of Theft and Forgery.”
Amy’s Baking Company was the subject of Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” program. While the show sets out to help failing restaurants, Ramsay had to part ways from Amy’s as the owners refused to believe they were in trouble. Ramsay struggled to discuss the problems with the owners and had to walk away from Amy's Bakery, something the chef had never done before on the program. Following the episode airing, Reddit users and Yelp reviewers commented on the show and the antics of the owners. Amy’s Baking Company soon took to Facebook to right the wrongs of “Kitchen Nightmares,” posting comments to defend themselves, but it soon spiraled out of hand as Reddit users piled on, which led to the viral Facebook posts. Comments such as, "WE ARE NOT FREAKING OUT. WE DO NOT CARE ABOUT A ‘WITCH HUNT’ I AM NOT A WITCH. I AM GODS CHILD. PISS OFF ALL OF YOU. F**K REDDITS, F**K YELP AND F**K ALL OF YOU. BRING IT. WE WILL FIGHT BACK," helped spur the viral nature of the rants. They, naturally, claimed they were hacked.
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