WEG vs. Brand Sense — Diverted Commissions, Racketeering, and "Sneaky and Underhanded" Dealings : A Research Thread

[Steel Magnolia]

I'm starting to see an over-arching theme emerging...

"Sean said: “It was crazy. They took away her credit cards, her phone went, she wasn’t even given the access code to her own house.

“All she had financially — and this is long before the s*** hit the fan, this is before the head shaving incident — all she had was a piece of paper with one credit card number on to pay for things.

“But she didn’t actually have the card in her hands. It was a black Amex which was assigned to her manager’s business. So we would be left with bills for things that we couldn’t really afford."

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/15614693/britney-spears-pills-cash-hell-pal/

vs.

"Spears, 25, stumbled into the swanky Hollywood hotel on the morning of February 17 - wearing an electric blue wig to cover her newly shaved head.

The pop princess tried to book a room but was refused when it emerged she had no credit card or cash - just half a credit card number scrawled on a piece of paper."

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-439732/Britney-Be-friend.html

[mangotango]

This whole thread was really interesting to read and the thread starter especially!

And it makes it make sense why the hell Jamie refuses to step down from conservator of the estate. I think they still haven't handed over some financial documents that were requested I think last year already (someone please correct me if I am wrong though), them objecting to Bessemer getting involved etc. Not that Ingham seemed to push them very hard or urgently though, but now with Rosengart... it has to be only a matter of time. 

And if there is evidence it reached the magnitude of what Jon Eardley said (like money laundering), I would imagine this has strong potential to become a federal case. Which makes it especially interesting and convenient Rosengart is a former federal prosecutor. 

[Tingle2mingle86]

O m g. This thread 😩 my mind is now all over and exploding 🤯

[ohoney]

That ******* brother she has, talking about HER MONEY as "family business" pisses the **** out if me. They are delusional people who think they are some kind of businessman , shut the **** up. 

[ChrisBritSlo]

@Steel Magnolia our go-to source and Exhale’s most reliable member, I have a dumb question 

 

If her assets were worth only $40 millions at the beginning of the c-ship, wouldn’t the number $60 millions, that is reported she is worth now, mean c-ship is somehow doing something good?
 

Besides the fact she would probably be worth $500 millions If they weren’t stealing all the time

[Lucian85]

7 minutes ago, ChrisBritSlo said:

@Steel Magnolia

If her assets were worth only $40 millions at the beginning of the c-ship, wouldn’t the number $60 millions, that is reported she is worth now, mean c-ship is somehow doing something good?

But she earned at least $300 million since the c-ship started 

[Steel Magnolia]

1 minute ago, ChrisBritSlo said:

@Steel Magnolia our go-to source and Exhale’s most reliable member, I have a dumb question 

 

If her assets were worth only $40 millions at the beginning of the c-ship, wouldn’t the number $60 millions, that is reported she is worth now, mean c-ship is somehow doing something good?
 

Besides the fact she would probably be worth $500 millions If they weren’t stealing all the time

I don't know which emoji to use with this post.  Thank you for the kind words.

Anyway...

I'm highly sceptical that her assets were only worth $40-million at the time the conservatorship began.

In fact, I believe Michael Sands when he said that RICO Act violations were being committed prior to the c-ship being put in place.

So not only is that $600-million missing that ThatSurpriseWitness has been chasing (which is likely the money that was created during the conservatorship, between her two world tours, her Vegas residency, her sponsorship deals (e.g. Candies), merchandise, and perfume lines) but I also suspect that there's about $60-million missing prior to the conservatorship being created...That went missing between 2004 when the SJB Revocable Trust was created, and 2008, when Adam Streisand appeared in the probate court on Britney's behalf.

There's a good reason why Jamie wouldn't hand over the financials to Kevin Federline in 2018 when he and his lawyer were requesting them.

And there's a good reason why Ingham just took seven months to formally make Bessemer Trust her co-conservator.

It's a good thing Mathew Rosengart is a former federal prosecutor...He's going to need that experience for this case!

[mangotango]

12 minutes ago, Steel Magnolia said:

I don't know which emoji to use with this post.  Thank you for the kind words.

Anyway...

I'm highly sceptical that her assets were only worth $40-million at the time the conservatorship began.

In fact, I believe Michael Sands when he said that RICO Act violations were being committed prior to the c-ship being put in place.

So not only is that $600-million missing that ThatSurpriseWitness has been chasing (which is likely the money that was created during the conservatorship, between her two world tours, her Vegas residency, her sponsorship deals (e.g. Candies), merchandise, and perfume lines) but I also suspect that there's about $60-million missing prior to the conservatorship being created...That went missing between 2004 when the SJB Revocable Trust was created, and 2008, when Adam Streisand appeared in the probate court on Britney's behalf.

There's a good reason why Jamie wouldn't hand over the financials to Kevin Federline in 2018 when he and his lawyer were requesting them.

And there's a good reason why Ingham just took seven months to formally make Bessemer Trust her co-conservator.

It's a good thing Mathew Rosengart is a former federal prosecutor...He's going to need that experience for this case!

I'll also add, that even if her assets were worth only $40-million at the time the cship began, it seems impossible it would only have increased by $20-million in the 13 years since they took over and with all the huge deals with perfumes, albums, tours, residency etc. bringing in insane amounts of money. Even with how much the cship itself has cost, there should have been more than a $20-million increase. 

[MissSpearsSaysSo]

Where’s Britney’s 600 Million??..  

[SlayOut]

Is there anyway for us to make FOIA requests of Britney’s tax records, or those of her businesses or family members?

Maybe you (@Steel Magnolia) should pitch ProPublica to write a story… wherein they can “conveniently” gain access to these records.  I’d imagine they’d be open to it, given the renewed interest in the conservatorship.

The NYT reporters seem interested at looking at the “hybrid business model” aspect of the conservatorship, but idk how deep they’ll get…

EDIT

I tried looking up The Britney Spears Foundation using the IRS’ Tax Exempt Organization search but it’s not longer listed, as it’s no longer operable. Their EIN is 13-4192437 and was located at 215 Ward Cir Ste 200 Brentwood, TN 37027.

If it were still posted, we could’ve seen their 990 forms, detailing revenue raised, cash on hand, other assets and debts/expenses and officer payments for the organization…

It’d be interesting to see if any money were funneled into that organization by Bryan or other family members… or Lou, before it was dissolved during the conservatorship.

Edited July 17, 2021 by SlayOut
Additional point about BS Foundation

[Steel Magnolia]

1 minute ago, SlayOut said:

Is there anyway for us to make FOIA requests of Britney’s tax records, or those of her businesses or family members?

Maybe you (@Steel Magnolia) should pitch ProPublica to write a story… wherein they can “conveniently” gain access to these records.  I’d imagine they’d be open to it, given the renewed interest in the conservatorship.

The NYT reports seem interested at looking at the “hybrid business model” aspect of the conservatorship, but idk how deep they’ll get…

ProPublica is actually a great idea!

Part of the reason that I haven't gotten very far with my research is:

a) Budget...I don't have a budget like people such as ThatSurpriseWitness seem to. She drops hundreds of dollars on court documents, but I already have my own pet projects that I drop my spare coins on.

b) Familiarity...I don't live in the United States, so I'm not familiar with the California probate laws or how to submit American FOI requests for tax records. I mean, I'm sure I could figure it out, but I kind of just do this for fun on the side when I need a break from my own work.

But ProPublica could tackle both...Hmmm!

[SlayOut]

3 minutes ago, Steel Magnolia said:

ProPublica is actually a great idea!

Part of the reason that I haven't gotten very far with my research is:

a) Budget...I don't have a budget like people such as ThatSurpriseWitness seem to. She drops hundreds of dollars on court documents, but I already have my own pet projects that I drop my spare coins on.

b) Familiarity...I don't live in the United States, so I'm not familiar with the California probate laws or how to submit American FOI requests for tax records. I mean, I'm sure I could figure it out, but I kind of just do this for fun on the side when I need a break from my own work.

But ProPublica could tackle both...Hmmm!

I also updated my post positing about The Britney Spears Foundation, as well. Curious about your thoughts on that.

Here’s information on the IRS website about FOIA requests:

https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/freedom-of-information-act-foia-guidelines

A ProPublica or NYT journalist could probably do this in their sleep… but it appears that individuals could request information as well. They indicate “any” member of the public could submit a FOIA request, but idk about people outside the United States. The intent of FOIA is that all those records are public… so public to just US citizens or non citizens alike?

Anyways, send this thread as a pitch to ProPublica…

[Applejack]

17 minutes ago, mangotango said:

I'll also add, that even if her assets were worth only $40-million at the time the cship began, it seems impossible it would only have increased by $20-million in the 13 years since they took over and with all the huge deals with perfumes, albums, tours, residency etc. bringing in insane amounts of money. Even with how much the cship itself has cost, there should have been more than a $20-million increase. 

The real thing is that ever since 2008 we've basically seen her net worth fluctuate. It has actually gone down to less than 40 million in 2017 (I think) and ever since the cship has been enacted it just fluctuates. There is inflation and investment returns to consider.

Other thing, if in 2007 she did not have access to her own money, how did they claim she was spending too much? Britney knew she was earning 700k a month without working at some point though.

 

[SlayOut]

For your convenience, @Steel Magnolia!

https://www.propublica.org/tips/

[SlayOut]

Oh, and @Steel Magnolia — Liz Day, the NYT reporter who co-directed Framing Britney Spears, was the former Director of Research at ProPublica.

https://www.propublica.org/people/liz-day

Maybe just send this thread/a pitch to her since she’s working on this story for NYT…

[Steel Magnolia]

4 minutes ago, SlayOut said:

Oh, and @Steel Magnolia — Liz Day, the NYT reporter who co-directed Framing Britney Spears, was the former Director of Research at ProPublica.

https://www.propublica.org/people/liz-day

Maybe just send this thread/a pitch to her since she’s working on this story for NYT…

Ha! I cited ProPublica in my Master's thesis!

It wasn't written by Liz Day...But it was about Louisiana.

https://projects.propublica.org/louisiana/

[Alexanda]

12 hours ago, ohoney said:

That ******* brother she has, talking about HER MONEY as "family business" pisses the **** out if me. They are delusional people who think they are some kind of businessman , shut the **** up. 

They made her into a greatest hits artist, i don't think that was a good business move at all. 

And the truth is: Every Britney-fan is a better business-manager for her.

[SumoCyco2017]

How much u wanna bet all these perfumes are sub contracts for numbers to be fudged cuz ive honestly never seen anything but curious fantasy and perogitive on store shelves. Theres at least a handfjl of backdoor deals right there alone no?

[mangotango]

4 hours ago, SumoCyco2017 said:

How much u wanna bet all these perfumes are sub contracts for numbers to be fudged cuz ive honestly never seen anything but curious fantasy and perogitive on store shelves. Theres at least a handfjl of backdoor deals right there alone no?

Sorry, not sure I am following...How do you mean? 

[SumoCyco2017]

18 hours ago, mangotango said:

Sorry, not sure I am following...How do you mean? 

Her dad and lou registered a bunch of different company llcs for britneys income. In order to not have to pay the 35% she owes for perfume sales to whoever said they r  35% of perfume royalties, they have released the main scents to reach the obligation of the main contract, but all the side perfumes since theres a billion curious blah and fantasy etc, those deals were made underneath without the knowledge known to johnny or sbe whoever, and those funds r being funneled into one of the 75 companies her team registered...hidden under the guise of something else. Does that help or....im thinking thats where they r getting thwir number from, they havent been paid and supposedly britney has earned a billion off the perfumes alone (her brother admitted that) then where is the 350million owed to said business that got the contract for her...