ABC/NICK RAYHas someone been faking it with The Bachelor?
The production company behind the hit dating show and its spinoff, The Bachelorette, has sued a production accountant for allegedly embezzling at least $600,000 in phony production costs.
And here we thought finding love on the show was the tough part!
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County court and obtained by E! News, AND Syndicated Productions accuses Iain Anderson, former lead production accountant for the company, of conversion and breach of duty of loyalty after he allegedly bluffed his way through a glut of false expenses and "bogus transactions."
According to court documents, Anderson, who was "responsible for managing financial data for each production," supposedly pilfered money from "cash advances for bogus production-related costs."
He is also accused of funneling production funds into personal bank accounts, as well as falsifying temporary holiday payroll expenses.
"Anderson converted to his own possession at least $600,000 in [production] funds and concealed his acts of conversion," the lawsuit states, and the production company is seeking that amount in damages.
A rep for ABC declined to comment.
The legal smackdown comes less than two weeks before The Bachelorette is slated to air its blowout finale featuring current Cupid hopeful Emily Maynard.