Papa John's ousted founder John Schnatter accused the pizza chain's CEO Steve Ritchie of causing a steady decline in the company's finances, according to an Aug. 27 letter to franchisees.
Mr. Schnatter posted the letter on the website savepapajohns.com. He blamed Mr. Ritchie for "bad financial decisions, insufficient management skills to correct them, a toxic senior management culture, and serious misconduct at the top levels of our leadership team."
Mr. Schnatter, who owns 31 percent of the company's stock, also claimed he brought his concerns about Mr. Ritchie to Papa John's board. He later made a list of senior management, including Mr. Ritchie, he wanted replaced. Mr. Schnatter claimed Mr. Ritchie obtained the list and orchestrated Mr. Schnatter's departure.
A Papa John's spokesperson told CNBC in an emailed statement, "Once again, John Schnatter is making untrue and disparaging statements in a self-serving attempt to distract from the damaging impact his own words and actions have had on the company and our stakeholders."
Mr. Schnatter resigned as chairman of the board July 11 after he apologized for using a racial epithet earlier this year. Papa John's shares lost $96.2 million in market value after a Forbes article published a report about Mr. Schnatter's use of a racial slur during a May conference call, according to CNBC.
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