In 1984, entertainment executive Jeffrey Katzenberg was brought on as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, which oversaw all filmed content, including feature films, Disney Channel shows, home video releases, and everything in between. One year later, Katzenberg hired Richard Frank as president of Disney Studios, and together, the two oversaw the creation of some of the most iconic films in Disney history, including The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994).
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Ten years after coming to the Mouse House, Frank served as chairman of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications, but left the position and the company as a whole when his contract expired in 1995.
Mr. Frank currently owns Frank Family Vineyards, which consists of four estate vineyards, in California’s beautiful Napa Valley. And it is in Napa Valley where the former Disney executive has been accused of hatching a “malicious” plan to steal from the widow of celebrity chef Michael Chiarello.
And now, Mr. Chiarello’s widow wants justice for herself and her family.
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According to an exclusive report from The New York Post, Eileen Gordon, the widow of Mr. Chiarello, has filed a lawsuit against Mr. Frank, hospitality entrepreneur John Hansen, and third investor John Crowley, accusing them of plotting to “defraud the estate, seize assets and eliminate any association with Chef Chiarello, his estate, his family or his legacy.”
Ms. Gordon said that Mr. Chiarello treated the men like family for years, and when he died unexpectedly of anaphylaxis, she expected “cooperation” from the men she thought she could trust.
“Yet the people he trusted took everything for themselves, depriving all other shareholders including Chef Chiarello’s children,” Gordon told The Post, noting their son was a senior in high school when his dad died.
Following Chiarello’s surprise death, the suit claims the defendants immediately took charge of his three restaurants — the acclaimed Bottega in Napa Valley, Ottimo Yountville, the casual dining spot next door to Bottega; and Coqueta, a beloved Spanish eatery on San Francisco’s Embarcadero.
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Ms. Gordon accuses Mr. Frank of falsely representing himself as one of the owners of Mr. Chiarello’s restaurants, and further instructing staff at those restaurants to stop selling Mr. Chiarello’s wine and instead sell wine from his own vineyards.
Gordon, who is the estate’s trustee, attempted to communicate with Crowley, a consultant and paid advisor to one of the entities, about plans to protect the chef’s legacy, the suit claims. But Crowley allegedly ignored Gordon and dealt with Frank and Hansen instead.
It was all part of a “malicious plan” by the trio, who in February 2024 sent Gordon a letter saying they would buy the restaurants what the lawsuit deems a “hostile takeover.”
The suit claims that a critical option expired for the estate to claim ownership of Bottega, but because the paperwork was allegedly withheld by the investors, the estate had no way of knowing. That paved the way for the defendants to acquire Bottega, the suit claims.
Ms. Gordon further claims that the defendants relied on falsified financial documents to get Mr. Chiarello’s assets for “rock bottom” prices, and told her that once the deal was finished, she and the estate would be left with nothing.
Ms. Gordon refused to go through with the deal, and both sides entered into arbitration in 2025. The arbitrator sided with Mr. Frank and Mr. Hansen, granting them ownership of Mr. Chiarello’s restaurant, Bottega. They were also granted ownership of things like Mr. Chiarello’s trademarks, concepts, menus, and recipes.
The IP, however, was never transferred by Chiarello to the restaurant LLC governed by the arbitration, and is rightfully Gordon’s, the suit alleges. Gordon, claiming the estate’s value has been impacted over the Bottega sale and transfer of the IP, and is seeking unspecified damages that could balloon due to the alleged malicious and fraudulent acts of the defendants.
Attorneys for Mr. Frank and Mr. Hansen claim that they did nothing wrong and simply exercised their rights as part owners of Mr. Chiarello’s restaurants. However, Ms. Gordon claims that they are trying to steal her late husband’s legacy.
Mr. Chiarello died of anaphylaxis in 2023, at the age of 61. He had filed for divorce from Ms. Gordon in 2019, but the paperwork was not finalized at the time of his death. The couple shared one son.
Do you think Mr. Frank was trying to take advantage of the situation after the sudden death of Mr. Chiarello? Or do you think Ms. Gordon is trying to get something that is no longer hers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
The post Former Disney Exec Accused of Scamming Widow Out of Massive Inheritance appeared first on Inside the Magic.
