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Killer Shrimp closes its doors without paying employees

Posted at 6:57 PM, Sep 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-23 21:57:39-04

A popular seafood restaurant inside Town Square has shut its doors without paying its employees according to several waitresses. 

Killer Shrimp closed nearly 2 weeks ago, notifying employees the same day. 

"When we showed up there everything was packed, a note on the door saying there was a maintenance issue and that's when we were told we were being shut down," said Melissa Barnett, who's worked at Killer Shrimp since February. 

As of Friday employees have still not received their last paycheck. 

"We even called them and left messages no return until today," Barnett said. 

Owners told employees they would be receiving checks by next week, but many of the waitresses aren't hopeful.

"The whole year that I've worked there I have had five checks bounce," said Cassandra Canlas, who helps support her young child with each paycheck. 

Other employees said they have had to use their own money after their banks charged for bounced checks. 

"My dad had to pay back the $400 in his account or else the bank would've kept charging, and they paid nothing back," 

13 Action News reached out to Killer Shrimp, a California-based company, to see when these woman would be paid. 

They sent us this statement from Kevin Michaels, CEO of Killer Shrimp: 

"We very much appreciate the concerns of our staff and are addressing them accordingly.  As with any business closing their doors, there is a great deal of work that needs to be handled.  With that said, we are continuing to explore new business opportunities in Las Vegas and will assuredly take care of those who worked for and supported Killer Shrimp."

When we asked for an exact date on when employees would be paid, they said "soon." 

"I did everything for them... and they just had unfair treatment," said Barnett.