Fresno Sues Biggie Burrito for Wage Theft, Tax and Code Violations

The City of Fresno filed a civil complaint on Feb. 23, 2026, in Fresno County Superior Court against Biggie Burrito Taqueria, owner Claude Leon Patterson and manager Joseph Daniel Briseno, listing case number 26CECG00915 and naming Abigail Unruh as plaintiff counsel. The complaint classifies the matter as “15 unlimited - other employment” and asserts Employment Claims and Wage and Hour Claims tied to the shuttered restaurant at 1600 E. Belmont Ave., south of downtown near Calaveras Avenue.

City attorneys allege the business failed to pay employees for hours worked, did not meet minimum-wage obligations, failed to provide required breaks and neglected to pay required taxes and fees. The complaint states at least 12 employees were affected. The filing follows the restaurant’s closure by owner Patterson in June 2024 after the building was reported to have partially collapsed the previous year; the property is currently listed as vacant.

Manager Joseph Daniel Briseno is identified in court filings as a named operator. Briseno told reporters he filed wage complaints with the state labor commission and the City of Fresno, that he often worked 15-hour days and that payroll was informal: “Everything was handwritten. We never had a time system.” Briseno says he is owed six figures, rejected a $50,000 settlement offer from Patterson and plans to sue Patterson to recover wages.

Owner Claude Leon Patterson denies responsibility and blames the manager in statements to reporters, saying, “I’m absolutely not to blame,” and calling the other party, “He’s a crook.” Patterson also said, “He was not an employee. Nobody works a year with no wages.” Court records list the defendants as Biggie Burrito Taqueria, Claude Leon Patterson plus one additional individual consistent with the manager named in the complaint.

The filing is one of two recent actions taken by City Attorney Andrew Janz to enforce labor laws after the Fresno City Council empowered his office to pursue wage-theft cases in 2024. Janz’s office, through his executive assistant, declined additional comment and said it does not “comment on ongoing litigation or pre-litigation strategy.” Abigail Unruh is listed as counsel for the City of Fresno on the court docket.

Photographs from 2024 show the Belmont Avenue location prior to closure; the restaurant was reported closed by Patterson in June 2024. Court documents for case no. 26CECG00915 are filed in California Superior Court, Fresno County, where the city seeks remedies through the civil process; the complaint will determine specific damages, statutory claims and any exhibits such as payroll records or notices. The suit escalates municipal enforcement of wage-and-hour rules and places the now-vacant 1600 E. Belmont Ave. site at the center of an active employment and code dispute in Fresno.