LOS ANGELES (CN) - A man claims his alleged partners are trying "to cheat and defraud" him of his 20 percent interest in Coalition Media, "the personal manager of the enormously successful recording artist ... known as Lady Gaga."
Mams Taylor fka Mahmoud Masforoush sued Troy Carter, Cody Leibel and Coalition Media, in Superior Court.
Lady Gaga is not a party to the complaint.
Taylor claims he "provided the initial capital investment for Coalition in return for a twenty percent (20%) interest in that company. However, Carter, as manager of Coalition, has consistently refused to account to plaintiff or pay him his share of the distributions and profits of Coalition, has diverted to himself valuable assets of Coalition, and has refused to provide plaintiff access to the books and records of Coalition."
Taylor claims the defendants' "intentional and wrongful conduct has culminated in a recent attempt to strip plaintiff entirely of his interest in Coalition through a series of sham transactions concocted by Carter and Leibel," whom Taylor describes as Carter's "close friend."
The complaint continues: "First, Carter claimed that plaintiff's ownership interest in Coalition had been converted into a loan (for which Carter had no documentation). Then Carter and Leibel falsely claimed that three years earlier Leibel had acquired and now owned plaintiff's interest in Coalition. To complete their fraud, Leibel then purportedly transferred the interest (worth tens of millions of dollars) back to Coalition, even though both Carter and Leibel knew that in fact Leibel did not own and had absolutely no right to transfer plaintiff's interest in Coalition."
The plaintiff and defendants all live in Los Angeles County.
Taylor seeks an accounting and punitive damages of $35 million for breach of contract, conversion, aiding and abetting, and tortious interference. He is represented by Russell Frackman with Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp.
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.