Raja Krishnamoorthi’s Republican rival for Congress owns $50,000-$100,000 worth of stock in PAR, his financial disclosure report says
Chris Dargis, the Illinois Republican congressional candidate, was a senior adviser to PAR Technology, a New York-based “global restaurant software provider,” which has sourced products from a factory using forced Uyghur labor.
Dargis will face Raja Krishnamoorthi, a three-term Indian-American Democrat in Illinois’ 8th congressional district, in the Nov. 8 election.
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First elected in 2016, the Indian-born Krishnamoorthi serves on the House Oversight Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He is also chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, and serves as assistant whip.
Dargis was paid a $300,000 consulting fee in 2021 by Punchh, a company that provides digital loyalty platforms for service industry clients, which was acquired by PAR for $500 million that year, according to media reports.
He also owns $50,000-$100,000 worth of stock in PAR, making it his largest stock holding, according to his financial disclosure report filed with the House Clerk.
PAR Technology was a client of OFILM, a company manufacturing technology products inside Nanchang that allegedly owned a factory that used forced Uyghur labor, the Associated Press reported in March 2020.
The Uyghurs, according to the report, were monitored by security cameras and guards and were only allowed to go outside on escorted trips. OFILM allegedly ran a “school-enterprise cooperative” and described the programs in which workers were involved as “internships.”
OFILM had initially hired Uyghur workers since 2017, hiring them on one- or two-year contracts. OFILM told the AP that it “answered the government’s call” by relocating to Xinjiang and providing training for workers.
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OFILM shipped 48 touchscreen boxes to PAR Technology in February 2020, the AP reported, citing U.S. customs data obtained through ImportGenius and Panjiva, which track shipping data.
PAR Technology told the AP that it supplies terminals to major chains such as McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Subway. However, the AP said it was unable to confirm that products from OFILM end up at fast food companies.
McDonald’s told the AP that it has asked PAR Technology to cease purchases from OFILM while it begins an immediate investigation. PAR Technology also said it will investigate immediately. Subway and Taco Bell did not respond, the AP said.
On its investor page, PAR also lists “Manufacturing Capabilities in the US and China” as one of its highlights.
In November 2018, Pizza Hut Europe partnered with Punchh to help drive Pizza Hut Europe’s new Hut Rewards Digital Loyalty Program, just four months after Dargis left the fast food chain as VP of E-Commerce.
Earlier, in February 2016, Punchh was sued by LevelUp, a competing design and marketplace app business for the restaurant business, according to media reports.
LevelUp alleged that Punchh had made defamatory statements about LevelUp to its customers. However, the court dismissed the appeal in October 2018 on the grounds that it did not have jurisdiction over Punchh as he was an overseas defendant.
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In March 2019, PAR was sued by Kandice Neals, who worked at a restaurant that used a PAR cloud-based point-of-sale system that tracked employee time using a biometric fingerprint scanner, for violating privacy laws related to biometric data from finger scans.
Neals’ class action lawsuit alleged that PAR collected and stored her fingerprints without complying with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (which required that she be informed of the collection and storage policies). As of December 31, 2021, the company’s estimated liability for this case was $790,000.
In April 2021, Michael Bartusek, CFO of PAR Technology, pleaded guilty to stealing $776,000 from the company to invest in a scheme to buy and sell African diamonds, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported.
Bartusek pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering and filing a false tax return. Bartusek planned to pay the money back as soon as he turned a profit, but instead he lost the money. Bartusek then solicited investments for Integra Diamonds under false pretenses, the report said.
