Timbaland sues ex-managers for $15 million over fraud claims

Timbaland is in open conflict with the two men who once handled his money, saying they took millions from him, while one of them answers that the trouble started long before he arrived.

The men named in the suit

Gary Marella is the CEO of Mono Music Group, which has also represented Poo Bear and ATL Jacob. Bruce Seckendorf is a partner at LL Business Management. Its client list includes Pusha T, Clipse, Cirkut and Feid.

Marella's version

Marella strongly disputes the allegations against him. In his words, Timbaland is pushing blame for his own spending onto someone else, and did the same thing before Marella's team ever worked for him.

He says he took the job in 2017, after the biggest hits were already made. By his account the producer was broke, in debt and living in a rental. "His financial problems did not begin with me," Marella said.

Over about nine years, Marella says, his team generated roughly $75 million in business. He adds that Timbaland still spent past his means, sold his home last year and moved to a rental in Coral Gables.

What the suit says each man did

Seckendorf's side of the complaint is about unpaid bills. It says he failed to pay the mortgage and let the home reach the brink of foreclosure. It also says his firm paid federal taxes late, which produced millions in penalties and interest, while it kept paying itself, Marella's group and other professionals.

The claims against Marella are about commissions and records. The filing says he "stole millions in unauthorized commissions, fees, and reimbursements." It also says Timbaland's money covered the pay of Marella's employees, and that documents and messages were falsified to hide payments nobody approved.

The demand and the paper trail

Timbaland is asking for $15 million. The 65-page complaint was filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. It lists fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and civil theft, among other claims.

Beyond money, the plaintiffs want an accounting of the finances. They also want to end the continuing use of his name for the defendants' gain.

The producer hired his own lawyers and financial representatives to look into it. The complaint says they found concealed credit card arrangements, undisclosed liabilities and loans he had never knowingly agreed to. Both managers were let go last year. Seckendorf and his firm had not replied to requests for comment when the story ran.

Our view

What exists so far is one side's filing and one side's public statement. Neither has been tested by a judge. A formal reply from Seckendorf, whose position is still unknown, and any financial records produced in the case would show which account the documents support.

Source: Digital Music News