Fonn-owned businesses now closed

Two businesses owned by a local neurosurgeon, who was convicted in 2017 of submitting fraudulent insurance claims, have closed, at least temporarily.

"For Lease" signs were hung last week above the entrance to The Bar, 117 Themis St., and in front of Chocolate Works, 411 Broadway.

Both businesses, as well as several other local concerns, are owned by Dr. Sonjay Fonn.

Chocolate Works in Cape GirardeauJay Wolz ~ jwolz@semissourian.com

Fonn and his fiancee, Deborah Seeger, were convicted in November 2017 by a federal jury of submitting false and fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims. Following their conviction, a federal judge in St. Louis imposed fines and damages against Fonn totaling nearly $5.5 million.

A call Friday to the phone number on the "For Lease" banners was answered by a woman who identified herself as "Deborah." She did not provide her last name.

"Right now, Chocolate works at The Bar are closed," she said, adding that two other Fonn-owned businesses, Ragsdale's Pub and the River View Room in the Buckner-Ragsdale building on North Main Street, remain open. "We closed them just for the school break," she said in reference to Southeast Missouri State University, "but we're open tonight."

Asked if The Bar and Chocolate Works are "permanently" closed, she said "they're just closed for now."

However, when asked why The Bar and Chocolate Works had closed, she said "I have to go. I'm sorry. There's someone at the door." She then hung up and did not respond to a follow up text message.

In addition to The Bar, Chocolate Works, Ragsdales Pub and the River View Room, Fonn also owns Stevie's Steakburgers, 600 Broadway, and A Child's Journey Learning Academy, 3037 Lexington Ave. Stevie's Steakburgers has been closed and available for lease since 2018. However, A Child's Journey Learning Academy remains open.

The Bar, which gained notoriety as the backdrop for the 2014 movie "Gone Girl," closed in October 2018, but reopened in June with limited hours of operation.

At one time, Fonn's properties were managed under the umbrella of Fonn Enterprises LLC. By last year the name of the management company had been changed to Taste of Cape.

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