Depp whistleblower says actor’s sister spent his money
A newly revealed testimony in Johnny Depp’s ugly legal battle alleges The Management Group kept Depp in the dark about his financial situation and says the group allowed his sister to spend his money unchecked.
The famed Disney Pirate sued TMG in January, alleging the company and his former business managers, Robert and Joel Mandel, of treating his money as their own and causing him to go into millions of dollars worth of debt, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The Mandels quickly countersued, alleging Depp knew he was running low on money but continued to spend irresponsibly.
A newly revealed testimony in Johnny Depp’s ugly legal battle alleges The Management Group kept Depp in the dark about his financial situation and says the group allowed his sister to spend his money unchecked
Depp sued DMG in January, alleging the company and his former business managers, Robert and Joel Mandel (pictured), of treating his money as their own and causing him to go into millions of dollars worth of debt
Earlier in May, Depp filed a motion demanding a judge allow a whistleblower testimony to be unsealed in his lawsuit. The whistleblower, ex-TMG employee Janine Rayburn, says she believes the actor did not know the state of his finances.
TMG attempted to keep Rayburn’s claims under seal, but on Friday a court gave Depp the go-ahead to include claims arising from her testimony in his lawsuit, and said the transcript of her March 2 deposition should be public, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
In the failed attempt to keep those claims quiet, TMG cited a confidentiality agreement and said Rayburn lied under oath.
Rayburn worked as an account manager at TMG from 2008 until 2010, and Depp was one of her eight clients.
The famed Disney Pirate filed a motion in May demanding a judge allow a whistleblower testimony to be unsealed in his lawsuit
The whistleblower, Janine Rayburn, said the company allowed Depp’s sister, Christi Dembrowski (pictured with Depp in a dated photo) to use Depp’s money for personal things, such as her daughter’s wedding and multiple vacations
She said her job includes day-to-day business such as processing bills, depositing checks, recording investments and meeting other client needs.
In court, she testified: ‘I do not believe Johnny was aware of his financial situation. To my knowledge, financial statements were not sent to him.’
In court, Rayburn testified: ‘I do not believe Johnny was aware of his financial situation. To my knowledge, financial statements were not sent to him’
However, when questioned by TMG’s attorney Michael Kump, Rayburn said she did not work on the team that prepared cash flow analysis documents or budgets, so did not know if they were sent to the actor.
‘The Court’s unsealing of whistle-blower testimony and the handwritten notes she took in 2010, both of which the Mandels sought to block from public view, review a steam of unethical and illegal acts,’ Depp’s lawyer Adam Waldman told the Hollywood Reporter.
Waldman also said these acts include instructing Rayburn to notarize ‘fake’ documents and change numbers in his financial statements.
Rayburn claimed the instruction to notarize Depp’s signature happened when he was not present, and said she has no idea why they were having her do so, as she only saw the signature pages.
She said her refusing to do those things and asking too many questions about how Depp’s account was being handled lead to her being fired.
She was paid severance of $40,000 in exchange for signing a confidentiality agreement.
TMG claims Rayburn is a ‘serial liar,’ angered by being fired seven years ago.
The company also says Depp’s reliance on Rayburn’s ‘highly speculative statements is ridiculous.’
Rayburn said she began taking notes when she felt like she might be fired. She made notes about things she found ‘odd,’ and planned on bringing them up to her bosses.
Rayburn referred to Depp’s sister, Christi Dembrowski (pictured second from the right, next to Depp in 1995), as a ‘nasty b****’ and claims Mandel did whatever she asked because he was afraid of her. Dembrowski is in charge of Depp’s production company, and introduced him to people at TMG in the late 1990’s
In those handwritten notes, which were entered into testimony, she refers to Robert Mandel as an ‘idiot,’ and says he does not believe her, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Rayburn also refers to Depp’s sister, Christi Dembrowski, as a ‘nasty b****’ and claims Mandel did whatever she asked because he was afraid of her.
Dembrowski is in charge of Depp’s production company, and introduced him to people at TMG in the late 1990’s.
Rayburn also says the company allowed Dembrowski to use Depp’s money for personal things, such as her daughter’s wedding and multiple vacations.
The ex-TMG employee claims Mandel did not get Depp’s permission for these expenses, but, when she approached Dembrowski, the sister said: ‘My money is his money. His money is mine.’
Waldman says Rayburn’s claims are very substantial, and the actor’s forensic accountants Edward White & Co and Miriam Fisher, who heads the tax department at Latham & Watkins, ‘independently verified many of the whistle-blowers most damning allegations.’
However, Kump claims when it all comes to trial ‘Depp will be proven a liar and a fraud.’
Depp’s suit claims the Mandels loaned $10 million of his money to third parties close to him without permission and kept messy financial records. He accused them of using his money to invest in business’ the pair had a stake in.
He also claims the company launched a global media smear campaign against him.
Depp fired the Mandel pair late in 2016, and it was revealed in April the actor is $40million in debt.
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