Johnny Depp Files $25 Million Lawsuit Against Business Managers for Fraud
While filming 2013's The Lone Ranger, Depp was thrown from a horse and almost trampled by the animal. The harrowing ordeal was captured on film. A mostly injury-free Depp lived to tell the tale on Entertainment Tonight. "'Hooves.' 'Hooves' is what was going through my mind," he recalled. "It was a strange moment because it wasn't like one of those adrenaline-filled moments where you're flipping out and panicking and stuff like that … I was very lucky, because it could have been horrific."
Johnny Depp believes he’s been the victim of some very bad accounting and it could end up costing him one of his homes.
The Pirates Of The Caribbean star filed a lawsuit against his own business managers at The Management Group on Friday, according to court documents obtained by Deadline.
Depp is asking for more than $25 million in a jury-seeking suit, alleging fraud among several other claims, including breach of contract and professional negligence.
The filing also alleges that the management firm is trying to foreclose on Depp’s primary home through a loan he claims came from the management company.
“As a result of years of gross mismanagement and sometimes outright fraud, Mr. Depp lost tens of millions of dollars and has been forced to dispose of significant assets to pay for TMG’s self-dealing and gross misconduct,” reads the complaint.
“In essence, TMG treated Mr. Depp’s income as their own, available to either TMG or third parties to draw upon as desired,” adds the filing.
The complaint also states that Depp only learned of the misconduct after terminating his relationship with TMG and hiring a new business manager.
Finally, the suit asks for a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction, which would prevent the firm from foreclosing on the home.
Michael Kump, attorney for TMG, issued a statement Friday to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “For 30 years, Joel and Rob Mandel, and their company The Management Group, have been trusted business managers to some of the most successful individuals and companies in the entertainment business. For 17 of those years, they did everything possible to protect Depp from his irresponsible and profligate spending.”
The statement continued, “In December 2012, Depp faced financial ruin with the impending default on a $5 million bank loan. The Mandels bailed him out by loaning him $5 million, which he promised to repay by January 2014. Although Depp later changed managers, he never alleged any wrongdoing. In October 2016, with Depp still owing $4.2 million, the Mandels started non-judicial foreclosure proceedings against certain of Depp’s properties. Depp’s lawsuit, filed on the eve of the sale of those properties, is a transparent attempt to derail the foreclosure by concocting and spreading malicious lies about the Mandels. His tactics and lawsuit will fail, and he will be forced to pay back the loan as promised.”
Earlier on Friday, Depp’s divorce from Amber Heard was finalized. According to docs obtained by PEOPLE, Depp will keep all of his real estate holdings.
