SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The U.S. Attorney's Office calls the owner of Breakfast Bitch restaurant in Hillcrest a “serial con artist.” According to documents obtained by News 8, she’s accused of stealing more than $1,000,000 and it's believed that some of that money went to open the popular restaurant.
Tracii Hutsona opened her quirky restaurant in the summer of 2019, and business was booming a few weeks later when she told News 8, “we had no idea it was going to be this crazy.”
Back in 2008, Hutsona was sentenced to more than six years in prison for her involvement in a different case that centered around a lot of missing money. She said she changed in prison, but two months ago she was arrested again charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Authorities allege she stole money from Joumana Kidd, an actress and the ex-wife of former NBA star Jason Kidd. Hutsona worked for Joumana Kidd as a personal assistant, and is accused of assisting herself to more than a million dollars of Kidd's money. According to the complaint, "it appears that Hutsona stole money set aside for the education of Victim-1's children to fund her own luxury lifestyle."
Hutsona was out of town when News 8 reached her Monday, but she said she completely denies the allegations that she started the restaurant with other people's money. She followed up the conversation with a statement that read in part:
"We work extremely hard, and have built what we have legitimately. People love fake news more than the truth because it's juicy and fun to talk about. Sadly, there are people who would rather celebrate failure than success in others."
It's not clear when Hutsona will be back in court, but she faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all charges.