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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Investor Says ‘LMAO All-Star Comedy’ Owes $$

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) - A man who claims he invested $20,000 in the "LMAO All-Star Comedy" show but never saw any of the profits when it sold to a third party has sued the show's creator in state court.

Uzoma Okoro claims that in 2010 he signed a contract with Deon Taylor of LMAO Comedy/Deon Taylor Entertainment to invest $20,000 in a show that would be called "LMAO All-Star Comedy Series." The show featured big-name comedians like Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart and Tony Roberts.

Okoro says in his complaint that he was promised a 6.75 percent return of net profits on the back-end DVD, as well as "worldwide rights, domestic and foreign" to the show. The contract also entitled Okoro to recoup 100 percent of his initial investment and gave him executive producer credit, the complaint states.

Taylor eventually got the film made with Okoro's investment and sold it to a third party, Screen Media Studios. Screen Media paid an advance of $50,000 for distribution rights and Taylor promised to give Okoro his portion of the advance, according to the complaint.

But Okoro says Taylor never paid any of the returns or profits from any of the shows produced. Taylor said in a February 2014 email to Okoro that Screen Media never paid their promised advance and he promised to pay Okoro pack his initial investment "from his own pocket," the complaint states.

Okoro says Taylor has continued to promise repayment, but now believes that there have been "misstatements as to the amounts that have been made." He estimates that he is owed $370,000, according to the complaint.

Besides breach of contract, Okoro is also suing Taylor for fraud, negligent misrepresentation of fact and conversion. He is represented by Robert Bowman, of Bowman and Associates in Sacramento.

Cezar Torrez, a representative at Bowman and Associates, said the film was distributed through online providers like Netflix and Hulu, as well as being available for free on YouTube. While Taylor offered to pay Okoro "from his own pocket", Torrez said that the firm is uncertain what Taylor's financial situation is and if he could repay the initial investment or the $370,000 the suit is asking for.

A trial date has not yet been set.

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