Former Gogol Bordello guitarist Oren Kaplan suing Eugene Hutz
Music News | Aug 1st, 2013
Geez, things are going to get nasty in Gogol land after they just released their new album Pura Vida Conspiracy. The Guardian is reporting that former guitarist Oren Kaplan is suing Eugene Hutz over holding funds from other band members after taken over control of the band’s finances. Oren also discovered the band had a “secret” contract with Coca-Cola. Punk rock right?!
The lawsuit was filed by Oren Kaplan, Gogol Bordello’s guitarist, on behalf of both himself and the band’s business entity, Gypsy Punks LLC. Kaplan submitted his claim to New York county supreme court, Courthouse News reports, charging Hutz with breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. He wants personal damages of at least $950,000 (£623,000), plus another $950,000 to be paid back to Gypsy Punks.
According to the suit, Kaplan had been playing with Gogol Bordello since 2000, co-writing many songs, and used to help oversee the group’s financial affairs. In 2009, Hutz allegedly took over all of Gogol Bordello’s accounting; thereafter, he began paying himself a salary of more than $130,000 (£85,000), twice as much as any other band-member. Kaplan also claims the singer created new corporations, separate from the band, and transferred over about $500,000 (£330,000) of their cash. Although Hutz referred to these transfers as “loans”, he never paid any interest.
[The Guardian]
