Police Seek Owner of Restaurant on Fraud Charge

SAN FRANCISCO — The chef and owner of a Burbank Cajun restaurant has been accused of bilking more than 1,000 investors of at least $1 million, federal investigators said.

Mark A. Foster, 41, was being sought Wednesday on a federal charge of mail fraud, postal inspector Jeff Fitch said. Foster owns Cafe N’awlins in Burbank.

Foster solicited investments in limited partnerships by promising a return of eight times their investment in a 20-week period, Fitch said. Inspectors found that old investors were being paid with new investors’ money, he said.

The suspect’s brother, Patrick Foster, was arrested for allegedly conspiring with Mark Foster in the scheme. He was taken into custody Sunday in Phoenix, Fitch said.