Promoter Claims Ali Khan ‘Extorted’ It

FAIRFAX, Va. (CN) - Ali Khan "extorted" a promoter by threatening to back out of a concert unless it paid him and his marketing firm an extra $30,000, the promoter claims in court.

EMDO Group sued Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Portfolio Marketing and Events, and its representative Salman Ahmed in Fairfax County Court. EMDO accuses the Pakistani singer and his cohorts of conspiracy and interference with contract.

EMDO claims it booked Khan to perform at the Patriot Center of George Mason University, in Washington, D.C. and for another show in Dallas. The deal was that Khan and Portfolio Marketing would get $100,000 to $160,000 per show, based on ticket sales, according to the 9-page lawsuit.

EMDO claims it paid Portfolio Marketing $120,000 for the Dallas show, but because only 2,652 were tickets, the company should have kept only $100,000.

EMDO claims it also paid bills for services and supplies that were not covered by the agreement.

"All demands made to defendants which have sought the repayment of the sums wrongly charged by defendant Khan or by Mr. Ahmed or PME to the benefit of Mr. Khan with respect to the Dallas Concert have been ignored," EMDO claims.

The complaint adds: "On May 22, 2013, two days before the DC (Patriots Center) concert was scheduled to occur, Salman Ahmed, as the authorized representative of PME and Khan, at their direction and/or on their behalf, contacted EMDO's employee Waleed Mamood and stated that Ali Khan would not appear at the concert unless PME and Ali Khan were paid an additional $30,000.00. Additionally, Salman Ahmed stated that Ali Khan would not appear at the scheduled concert event without this payment."

EMDO claims Khan blew off a scheduled preconcert event "in his effort to extort additional funds from EMDO."

EMDO says it refused to pay the extra $30,000, but paid him $110,000 for the 2,370 tickets sold: $10,000 more than it owed under their agreement.

Again, EMDO says, Khan refused to return the overpayment or the money for the incidental bills EMDO paid that were not covered by contract.

Khan, 39, who has been performing the devotional music of the Muslim Sufis since 1985, comes from a long line of Middle Eastern singers. He's performed on several U.S. movie soundtracks, including a collaboration with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder on the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack.

EMDO seeks $108,000 for conspiracy and interference, and $700,000 in punitive damages.

It is represented by Jon Mains.

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