Rihanna Missed Out on Millions? Singer Sues Former Accountants

Pop star claims she's now being audited by the IRS as a result of their faulty bookkeeping

By Natalie Finn Jul 06, 2012 12:32 AMTags
RihannaAwais, PacificCoastNews.com

Rihanna is quite rich—but should she be much richer?

The pop star has sued her former money managers, claiming they took poor care of her finances and have ultimately cost her tens of millions of dollars since she hired them in 2005.

And now, her lawsuit alleges, their faulty bookkeeping has resulted in her being audited by the IRS.

According to the federal complaint filed today in Manhattan under her real name, Robin Fenty, Rihanna was never informed that her 2009 Last Girl on Earth tour was bleeding money; her team therefore never took measures to rein in expenses, resulting in "significant net losses."

Per the complaint, Rihanna believes that defendant Berdon LLP had no incentive to advise her to pare down the production because the company was notching 22 percent of her touring revenue—an unorthodox method of sharing in the spoils, the suit contends. Meanwhile, the "S&M" singer took in only 6 percent, she says.

Rihanna further accuses Berdon of getting lazy with her tax returns between 2008 and 2010, resulting in an ongoing audit of her income for those years. And she pins the blame on Berdon for her $6.9 million purchase in 2009 of a home that caused her major headaches, claiming she got shoddy financial advice in that corner, as well.

"Despite having earned millions of dollars in revenues during Berdon's tenure Fenty learned that her net income after payment of expenses and exorbitant commissiones to defendant was a fraction of that amount," the suit states.

And Rihanna has already seen her fortunes rise since dropping the New York-based firm last September, according to the lawsuit, which states that her 2011 Loud tour turned a 40 percent profit.

Berdon has not commented on the suit, which alleges breach of contract and negligence.