Koo Koo Roo Ex-Director Pleads Guilty

A former director of the Koo Koo Roo Inc. restaurant chain pleaded guilty to profiting illegally from inside information about his board’s decision to appoint Lee Iacocca acting chairman in 1998, federal authorities said. Donald B. Wohl faces as many as 20 years in federal prison and fines as high as $2 million. He entered his guilty plea before a federal judge and is scheduled to be sentenced April 24, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Wohl bought 50,000 shares of Los Angeles-based Koo Koo Roo on behalf of his son, daughter, girlfriend and two associates before the company’s board announced its decision in 1998 to appoint Iacocca, the former chief executive of Chrysler Corp. Wohl sold all the shares three days later, after the management change was announced, and made a profit of $42,860, federal authorities said. Wohl resigned from Koo Koo Roo’s board in May 1998 and was not part of the company’s management at the time of its merger with Irvine-based Prandium Inc.