Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Inventor Sues Former Company

LOS ANGELES, CA – Richard Montañez, the former PepsiCo executive credited with inventing Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging defamation, fraud, and unfair competition. 

The suit, filed July 18, 2024, in Superior Court of the State of California on Mr. Montañez’s behalf by law firm Ellis George LLP in Los Angeles, seeks a jury trial, damages, restitution, and an order preventing PepsiCo and Frito-Lay from claiming that Montañez is not the creator of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

“I created Flamin’ Hot Cheetos not only as a product but as a movement and as a loyal executive for PepsiCo,” said Montañez. “PepsiCo believed in me as a leader because they knew people would follow me, and they did because they knew my soul is my community. We built this into a $2 billion industry, and I cannot let them take away my legacy or destroy my reputation. I will not let them silence me.”

Montañez became an American success story, going from high school dropout and janitor at Frito-Lay (now owned by PepsiCo) in Southern California to celebrated marketing legend after creating “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos” in 1992. 

His life story was depicted in last year’s film, “Flamin’ Hot,” directed by Eva Longoria. Montañez became PepsiCo’s Vice President, Multicultural Sales & Marketing, an author, an inspirational speaker commanding up to $50,000 per speech. 

Yet, after four decades of sharing Montañez’s extraordinary story with the world, PepsiCo allegedly began an “inexplicable smear campaign to disavow Mr. Montañez’s role in creating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos," said Eric George, partner at Ellis George LLP.

“This complaint speaks for itself, and we are looking forward to presenting the merits of this case to a jury."

 A 2021 Los Angeles Times article interviewed numerous Frito-Lay employees and called Montañez’s version of events into question. His complaint alleges that the source for the L.A. Times story had the ulterior motive of trying to steal credit for inventing Flamin' Hot Cheetos.