Boston sues Barbara Lynch for $1.7 million in unpaid taxes

The city of Boston is suing Barbara Lynch, the embattled fine-dining chef and restaurateur, for nearly $1.7 million in unpaid personal property taxes.

Filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court, the lawsuit claims Lynch owes a "vast unpaid amount of taxes" across her seven Boston restaurants. The debts date back more than a decade.

The lawsuit says Lynch failed to pay personal property taxes for years, except for one payment for each entity in August 2021.

On Jan. 5, 2024, Lynch began downsizing her restaurant empire in Boston — selling two South End locations, and closing three in Fort Point.

The city sent final notices to her businesses six days later, on Jan. 11, 2024, according to the suit. These were the amounts for each restaurants as of that date:

Those taxes continue to accrue on a per diem rate of $366, according to the court filing.

Last month, Lynch announced plans to close her remaining establishments. The Rudder in Gloucester is closed. No. 9 Park on Beacon Hill and B&G Oysters in the South End remain open, but are expected to shutter soon.

As WBUR reported in October, Lynch pointed to money as the driving force of the closures.

“The harsh realities of the global pandemic and the many difficulties faced calls for significant investment, which neither myself nor my fellow shareholders are positioned to do,” she said in a statement at the time.

In 2023, she was accused of creating a toxic work environment and sued for allegedly withholding tips from employees during the pandemic. She's denied all the claims.