'Soup Nazi' Company Files For Bankruptcy After CFO Indictment

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — No cash for you!

Soupman, the Staten Island company made popular by the television show Seinfeld, has filed for bankruptcy just weeks after its chief financial officer was indicted on charges of tax evasion.

Soupman sells the soups of Al Yeganeh, the inspiration for the “Soup Nazi” character on Jerry Seinfeld’s legendary sitcom who punished misbehaving customers with the catchphrase, “No soup for you!”

In the bankruptcy petition filed in Delaware on Tuesday, the company estimated Soupman had debts ranging between $10 million and $50 million but was only worth between $1 million and $10 million, USA Today reported.

The company will not need to halt production immediately — Soupman secured a $2 million debtor-in possession credit facility from an undisclosed private investment firm to keep the business operating as normal, the company announced in a statement.

The announcement comes just weeks after Brooklyn federal prosecutors accused Soupman CFO Robert Bertrand of failing to pay almost $600,000 in federal, Medicare and Social Security taxes.

Bertrand stands accused of paying his employees about $2.8 million in cash and stocks between 2010 and 2014 without reporting it to the government, prosecutors said.

Bertrand pleaded not guilty to the charges in Brooklyn federal court and was released on a $50,000 bond, court records show.

Photo courtesy of Gary Stevens/Flickr