The GrubMarket v. Minh Thai lawsuit is an active fraud case filed in November 2023 in Queens County, New York, in which GrubMarket, Inc. and two co-plaintiffs accuse Minh Thai, Jian He, and two corporate defendants of conduct the court has categorized as fraud. The case is still pending, with a motion to dismiss under briefing as of late 2024 and no ruling or settlement on the public record.
Who Filed the Case and Where
GrubMarket filed on November 20, 2023, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens County, as case number 724581/2023. Judge Delsia G. Marshall is assigned.
The plaintiffs are GrubMarket, Inc., Fong Shing International Corp., and an individual named Junming Mei. The defendants are Minh Thai, Jian He, Sheng Yuan Produce, Inc., and Tai Sing International Corp. The court has categorized the matter as “Torts – Other (Fraud).”1Trellis.law. Grubmarket, Inc. v. Thai, Minh et al., Case No. 724581/2023
What GrubMarket Is Alleging
The full complaint is not available outside the court filing system, so the specific counts against Thai have not been made public. The mix of defendants — two former individuals and two produce-industry corporate entities — points toward claims that the individuals used GrubMarket or Fong Shing business information or relationships to operate competing companies.
That reading fits GrubMarket’s broader litigation pattern. In March 2025, the San Francisco Business Journal reported that GrubMarket had sued former employees for allegedly stealing trade secrets and customer lists to launch a competing business.2San Francisco Business Journal. GrubMarket Lawsuit Over Competing Business Whether that coverage describes this exact case or a parallel action is not clear from the available record.
The Defense Account on the Record
No public filing from Minh Thai lays out his side. The only defense narrative available comes from co-defendant Jian He, in an affidavit filed on November 27, 2024, opposing GrubMarket’s motion to dismiss.
He says GrubMarket hired him as general manager of Fong Shing International Corp. at $240,000 a year plus $40,000 in stock options, and that he held the role from November 10, 2021, through July 15, 2023. He alleges his employment ended when GrubMarket closed Fong Shing and moved its operations to another entity, Double Green Produce, Inc. He states his gross wages over roughly twenty months came to about $192,255, short of the agreed salary, and that he was pressured into signing a “Final Paycheck Acknowledgement” on July 14, 2023.3Trellis.law. Affidavit in Opposition to Motion, Grubmarket, Inc. v. Thai, Minh et al.
The affidavit frames the case, from the defense angle, as retaliation tied to unresolved compensation and the wind-down of Fong Shing.
Where the Case Stands
The case is still in motions practice. He’s November 2024 affidavit was filed in opposition to GrubMarket’s motion to dismiss (Motion 002), and no ruling on that motion has appeared in publicly accessible records.3Trellis.law. Affidavit in Opposition to Motion, Grubmarket, Inc. v. Thai, Minh et al. The case has not reached trial or settlement.
GrubMarket’s Own SEC Settlement
Anyone reading about GrubMarket as a fraud plaintiff should know that GrubMarket itself settled fraud charges with the SEC during the same period this lawsuit has been pending. In January 2025, the SEC announced settled charges against the company for overstating historical revenues by roughly $550 million over five years while raising about $80 million in a Series D funding round between November 2019 and February 2021.4SEC. SEC Announces Settled Charges Against GrubMarket The SEC found the company used one set of figures for investors and a lower set for tax filings and other corporate purposes, and did not disclose the discrepancy until after the round closed.
Without admitting or denying the findings, GrubMarket agreed to a cease-and-desist order and an $8 million civil penalty, which the SEC is working to distribute to harmed investors through a Fair Fund.4SEC. SEC Announces Settled Charges Against GrubMarket The enforcement action is separate from the Queens County lawsuit, but the overlap in timing is worth noting for anyone weighing GrubMarket’s fraud allegations against former employees.
A Different Minh Thai
Search results for “Minh Thai” often surface the Vietnamese-American speedcuber who won the 1982 Rubik’s Cube World Championship in Budapest with a then-record 22.95 seconds.5World Cube Association. Minh Thai – WCA Profile Nothing in the court record connects that person to the defendant in the GrubMarket case.