Friday, July 31, 2015

An accountant who knows nothing about their client

Rapper star 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, called his accountant to Court in the US to testify
about his finances. But she knew little more about them than he did.

Jackson has already filed for bankruptcy after a jury awarded a $5million penalty against him after deciding he violated a woman's privacy by posting her private sex-tape video online.

A further penalty was in prospect and the amount would depend on Jackson's net worth. He called his accountant to give evidence to support claims his net assets came to less than $5m. Other estimates suggest a figure well over $100m.

The Californian accountant, who, it transpired has never actually met or spoken with her famous client, is employed by his business managers.  She didn't cope well on the stand and said that she doesn't know:
  • who bought the rights when 50 Cent recently sold some of his music catalog for $3 million. 
  • whether the $29 million that 50 Cent loaned to various businesses is recoverable. 
  • how much money he makes from executive-producing the TV show 'Power'. 
  • how many drivers he has on his payroll.
  • how any value could be attributed to new partnerships between his headphone company and Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Intel and Reebok because they could “go nowhere and make no money,” 
  • how much money he made from a recent underwear-endorsement deal. 
  • that he had recently listed his 21-bedroom Connecticut mansion online for $11 million.
  • how much money 50 Cent makes from music royalties on the $38 millions worth of records he has sold.
You'd have thought she might have anticipated such questions and checked out the information beforehand. If only to retain some professional credibility. As it is she was a laughing stock.

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