Suge Knight Accused of Taking Advantage of Drugged Scott Storch in Fraud Lawsuit

by Eriq Gardner

The hit producer -- and former collaborator of Dr. Dre -- allegedly had to give up royalties for "pennies on the dollar" after Knight intimidated him.

Scott Storch is still trying to get his life in order after burning through a $70 million fortune thanks to a cocaine addiction. The writer and producer of many hits including "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake and "Naughty Girl" byBeyonce has been talking up a comeback after his last comeback attempt after bankruptcy resulted in a lawsuit from those who had bankrolled him. Now, comes a new lawsuit from Storch's bankruptcy trustee looking to recover a royalty share to many of his compositions after Suge Knight of Death Row Records infamy allegedly coerced Storch to sell his stake in hit songs at a fraction of what they were worth.

MONA SCOTT-YOUNG: XSCAPE BIO-EPIC

What makes the fraud lawsuit filed in Florida bankruptcy court all the more intriguing is that one of Storch's great hits was Dr. Dre's "Still D.R.E." Obviously, Dre and Knight have history.

According to the complaint, Storch's life was in turmoil in 2010 thanks to his high-flying lifestyle and drug addiction. He needed money. So he sold his publisher's share of a music catalog for $2.3 million to Reservoir Media Management.

Scott Brown, a Chapter 7 Trustee, claims this establishes a "fair value benchmark" to the value of Storch's rights.

After the sale, Storch still had a writer's share of works. Through his agent, according to the complaint, he had been introduced to Parviz Omidvar, principal at Music Royalty Consulting, Inc. (MRCI), the defendant in the adversary action.

"On information and belief, Omidvar explained to the Debtor that: (a) he could get cash quickly from MRCI without having to wait to receive royalty payments; and (b) that such cash payments would be loans against his future royalty payments," states the complaint.

Storch allegedly decided against this, but later entertained selling his writer's share.

"At that time, Suge Knight lived in the same gated community in Los Angeles as [Storch]," continues the complaint. "Knight knew about the Debtor’s: (a) struggles with drug addiction; and (b) inability to properly manage his finances, which made the Debtor a vulnerable and attractive target for extortion and manipulation. Upon information and belief, Knight repeatedly and systematically intimidated and threatened the Debtor to obtain money." Cont'd read more

This article appeared in Billboard Mag.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter 6/2/2017