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Entertainment May 1, 2017
According to legal docs, obtained by ENTITY, a whistleblower has come forward in Depp's $25-million-dollar lawsuit.
Johnny Depp says he has a smoking gun in his $25-million-dollar legal battle against his former business managers, courtesy of a whistle blower, and he’s asking a court to let their testimony go public, ENTITY has learned.
If you recall, Johhny Depp sued his former business managers, The Management Group (TMG), claiming the company mismanaged his fortune from 1999 to 2016, swindling him out of $28 million in contingent fees he never agreed to. Depp also claims TMG didn’t pay his taxes on time which cost him millions in fees and loaned his money out, without his permission. He demanded a minimum of $25 million in damages.
But TMG fired back in a hilarious counter-suit, claiming Depp was to blame for all of his financial troubles thanks to a lavish $2-million-dollar per month spending habit.
According to TMG Depp wasted all kinds of money, including $30,000 per month on wine, $200,000 per month on a private plane, $3 million to blast the ashes of author Hunter Thompson over Aspen, Colorado, $18 million on a luxury yacht, $75 million on 14 different residences and $1 million to archive his Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe memorabilia (clearly a necessity). In fact you probably read about all his spending and this lawsuit because every media outlet picked up the story to laugh at “Johnny Debt” and his crazy lifestyle (which on paper does sound ridiculous).
How do you spend that much money? https://t.co/wqemfAsuW8
— Gail Koger (@Askole) April 29, 2017
However, perhaps Depp will get the last laugh. In newly filed court documents, obtained by ENTITY, the actor says a whistleblower who worked inside The Management Group will prove he’s in the right, and that TMG squandered his fortune and committed fraud.
Specifically Depp and his lawyers say they deposed a former employee on March 2, 2017 who can corroborate Depp’s claims and provide documented evidence.
As to who the whistleblower is, all we know is it’s an ex-employee who worked on Depp’s account and was fired from TMG after allegedly complaining that money was being spent improperly.
As to what the smoking gun evidence is, we have no idea. All the information regarding the whistleblower’s testimony against TMG has been blacked out.
In fact TMG demanded the entire transcript of the deposition remain sealed, claiming the whistleblower lied under oath.
Depp says there’s no reason for the whistleblower’s information to be under lock and key because it doesn’t give away any company secrets or propriety information, and is only being hidden from the public because TMG doesn’t like “how it makes them look”. He’s asking a judge to unseal the documents.
“Regardless of whether defendants (incorrectly) dispute the reliability and accuracy of the former employee’s testimony, the public has a right to know that a former TMG employee whistleblower with intimate knowledge of [BLACKED OUT] … has come forward to support [Depp’s] allegations,” state the court docs.
Depp’s team also says this person knows “all the dirt and all the thieves”, and should be heard.
It’s an interesting request considering the whistleblower’s testimony is already known to the court, just not to the public. So it’s clear Depp isn’t solely interested in the court’s opinion, he’s also interested in the court of public opinion.
When TMG first filed their counter-suit the press mainly focused on how much money Depp blew on overly extravagant expenses. After all, how does someone who makes hundreds of millions of dollars not manage to pay their taxes on time or fall into financial trouble of any kind? By buying $30,000 a month of wine, that’s how! Is how the story was painted.
Depp’s move to unseal the testimony may be to salvage his “I’m an idiot with money” image and prove he was actually wronged despite his crazy spending habits.
TMG doubled down on their defense Monday, claiming Depp’s sense of entitlement is “clear and epic” according to an amended complaint filed May 1.
“Depp listened to no one, including TMG and his other advisors, and he demanded they fund a lifestyle that was extravagant and extreme … Depp insisted that this sound engineer be kept on yearly retainer so that he no longer had to memorize his lines,” states the complaint.
TMG also claims Depp’s “army of attorneys” bailed him out of legal battles and made numerous”hush money settlements” —which they claim will be revealed during trial.
