PHOTO: Mad Mex Ponsonby
👩🍳 Four young employees of a now-closed Mexican fast-food chain in Auckland are fighting for justice as they seek unpaid wages and entitlements following the liquidation of their employer, JV No 6, the company behind a Mad Mex restaurant at Westfield St Lukes.
📉 The restaurant shut its doors in September 2023, the day after staff were emailed a sudden closure notice from James Tucker, the director of the parent company, Mad Group. JV No 6 is just one of several entities in Tucker’s web of hospitality businesses that have been placed into liquidation over the past year.
💼 Wages Unpaid, Legal Battle Escalates
🧾 The four former Mad Mex staff – Tiele Apiuta, Rahul Jain, Marri-Anne Thompson, and Nikyla Thompson – are collectively owed $22,637.87 in wage arrears, holiday pay, notice pay, and legal costs. Most of them were under 19 years old at the time.
⚖️ Represented by employment advocate Kim Ahern, the group has taken their case to the Employment Relations Authority. The authority has ruled that Tucker must personally pay the owed wages, as JV No 6 is unable to meet its liabilities. A compliance order hearing is set to proceed this week.
🏃♂️ Director’s Long History of Liquidations and Franchise Ventures
🍔 Tucker, once hailed as a young hospitality entrepreneur, previously launched Downlow burger stores and owned the well-known Kohi Beach Eatery, both now also involved in company restructures.
🔁 In what’s being described by liquidators as a “phoenix company restructure”, multiple Mad Mex restaurants have quietly rebranded into Downlow outlets. At least nine companies linked to Mad Group are now in liquidation, many renamed shortly before folding.
🏠 Public records show that Tucker and his wife sold their Kohimarama home for $4 million just weeks before the Westfield St Lukes restaurant shut.
🚨 Phoenixing and the Need for Stronger Corporate Accountability
📢 Critics are calling for tighter regulation around phoenix companies – businesses that are closed with unpaid debts only to reopen under a new name.
💬 “This is extremely stressful for young workers who are new to the workforce,” says Ahern. “They’re left unpaid, out of work, and have to navigate the legal system while trying to finish school or find other employment.”
🏛️ The Law Commission is preparing to review the Companies Act, focusing on director responsibilities, penalties, and enforcement, with a goal of cracking down on directors who repeatedly fail businesses and abandon creditors.
Former Mad Mex employees are seeking a Compliance Order through an in-person ERA hearing as they have not yet received the wages they are owed by James Tucker, above. Photo: Supplied
👀 Downlow Stores Still Trading – For Now
🍟 Despite the legal troubles, eight Downlow burger stores are still operating across the North Island, with four more listed as “coming soon” on the company website.
🔍 Meanwhile, creditors, staff, and advocates are watching closely to see whether those owed money will finally receive payment – or be left behind again in the fallout of another company collapse.
💬 “If Tucker doesn’t pay up after this Friday’s hearing, we’ll pursue enforcement through the Employment Court or District Court,” Ahern says. “There must be accountability.”
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SOURCE: NEWSROOM