Malik Yusef was reportedly sued by Korean fashion brand, Gentle Monster, for forging Kanye West’s signature on contracts and using fake invoices.
The clothing brand sued Yusef for using his relationship with Ye to deceive them to believe that he was searching for talent to do a video series titled, Project 13.
“From their earliest interactions with Gentle Monster, defendants went out of their way to describe Yusef’s star-studded connections,” Susan Leader, Gentle Monster’s attorney, wrote. “They never missed an opportunity to mention that Yusef routinely works with artists like Beyoncé and Kanye, that he tours with Jay–Z, or that he vacations with Pharrell Williams.”
The company claims Yusef swindled them to complete all transactions through him and leave out any agents. Gentle Monster paid Malik Yusef a whopping $2.5 million under the impression that he’ll be pulling in A-list influencers like Kanye, Pharell, Jaden Smith, and Paris Jackson.
“Defendants’ deception was both flagrant and brazen,” Leader continued. “Specifically, they forged Kanye’s signature, created a shell entity named after Kanye’s deceased mother, issued fraudulent invoices made to appear as though they had been issued by legitimate talent agencies, lied about their contacts and work with artists, and, in the end, pocketed more than $2.5 million from Gentle Monster.”
The clothing brand sued Yusef as well as his manager, and business partner, Burundi Partlow and Sonja Nutall, on claims of fraud, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair competition.
