Julia Haart sued for millions, allegedly used company as ‘personal piggy bank
“My Unorthodox Life” star Julia Haart is being sued for allegedly spending unauthorized millions of dollars of company cash by her estranged husband Silvio Scaglia.
Haart, 51, who was ousted as CEO of Elite World Group
earlier this month, is alleged to have spent $125,000 on “cosmetic procedures”
—including a boob job, as Page Six reported — according to court papers.
The filing, seen by Page Six, also claims that Haart used the
company set up to run her clothing line, E1972, as her “personal piggy bank.”
It alleges that she spent approximately $500,000 at Louis
Vuitton, $180,000 at Chanel, $140,000 at Dior and more than $500,000 on lavish
trips for herself and her family, plus more than $160,000 on makeup and
hair-styling services.
The suit alleges that Haart overspent on the budget
allocated to her for personal expenses, claiming: “In addition to exceeding
E1972’s budget by millions of dollars due to her personal spending habits,
Haart also freely used two EWG corporate credit cards to purchase expensive
clothing and handbags, luxury vacations, and other personal and unnecessary
purchases.”
“Haart made these expenditures despite the decision to fund
a limited amount of Haart’s promotional costs only through E1972, and not
through EWG.”
The suit added: “In total, Haart used her position as chief
executive officer to spend at least $1 million of EWG’s corporate funds on
personal and unnecessary expenses without authorization to do so.”
It also alleges that: “Due primarily to Haart’s
mismanagement of EWG and excessive spending, from 2018 to 2021, EWG’s EBITDA
[earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] declined from
$6 million to negative $10.4 million.
“Haart’s excessive spending on herself also contributed to
E1972’s 2021 EBITDA being negative by nearly $5 million.”
Haart has previously said in court papers that she did not
take a salary and therefore used company funds, as agreed with Elite World
Group chiefs.
As Page Six reported, the day after she was fired from Elite
World Group earlier this month, Haart was found to have withdrawn $850,000 from
an account that she shared with Scaglia, held under the holding company name,
Freedom Holding — despite having signed an agreement not to take out more than
$250,000.
The suit alleged: “Mr. Scaglia and Freedom Holding have
informed Haart, through her counsel, that the withdrawal of the $850,000 was
illegal, but she has not returned the funds,” adding: “As a consequence of
Haart’s breach of her duty of loyalty and good faith, and because Haart deliberately
and repeatedly acted adversely to her employer, Haart has forfeited any right
to compensation for her services.
“Haart is thus not entitled to any compensation for services
performed during the period during which she engaged in activities constituting
breach of her duties of good faith and loyalty.”
Haart is still believed to be living at the $65 million
Tribeca penthouse she shared with Scaglia, whom she married in 2019 — and who
subsequently made her part-owner of Elite World Group.
She filed for divorce hours after being fired, and according
to sources, still has Netflix cameras rolling at her home.
Meanwhile, Scaglia’s attorney, Lanny Davis, said in part in
a statement to Page Six:
“Fiduciary duty is defined under centuries of law as
requiring 100 percent selflessness to the beneficiary, the company — 100
percent honesty and transparency and non-self-aggrandizement.
“I and Mr. Scaglia believe that Ms. Haart’s conduct and
excessive spending on herself has abused the trust of EWG, E1972, and Freedom
Holding. Now we will trust the justice system in New York to determine the
right result and, if the evidence supports it, to hold Ms. Haart accountable.”
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