Producer and DJ Calvin Harris has accused his financial adviser of stealing at least $22.5 million for what his lawyers say was a “boondoggle” real estate project.
Harris claims that his financial adviser, Thomas St. John, was developing CMNTY Culture Campus, which was initially envisioned to create a 460,000-square-foot development in Hollywood for musicians, recording engineers, entertainers and creatives, according to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday. The campus was also set to include recording studios, office space and artists’ lounges.
The documents claim that St. John began the project in 2020 but ran out of money and, in 2023, asked Harris for an emergency cash infusion.
Harris’ attorneys allege that St. John did not reveal his true intentions to Harris and provided no information about the project. The attorneys accused him of “exploiting his role” as Harris’s financial adviser, causing him to make a $10 million loan to the project and a $12.5 million equity investment.
Sasha Frid, an attorney for St. John, disputed Harris’ claims. Frid said in a statement that the DJ “actively pursued this development opportunity” and was one of several investors.
“Unhappy with the pace of the project, he chose to pursue private arbitration to assert his discontent,” Frid said.
Frid described the project as “a one-of-a-kind, high-rise residential development project on the corner of Sunset & Hollywood” that will include about 750 apartments in two towers as well as thousands of square feet for outdoor, retail and creative spaces.
“It’s no secret that due to interest rates and other market factors real estate projects are taking longer to build,” Frid said. “But the development is very much viable and expected to have a $900+ million valuation when completed. Mr. St. John denies any wrongdoing.”
According to Harris’ filing, the $10 million loan was supposed to be paid back with interest by Jan. 31, 2025. The money from the loan and equity investment still has not been paid back, the document alleges. Attorneys for the DJ said the project is “at best, a complete boondoggle, and, at worst, a complete fraud.”
“To this day, Claimants do not know where Claimants’ investment has gone or what it has been used for,” the document reads. “In any event, Respondents had no intention of Mr. Wiles actually receiving back the full value of his investment, through distributions or otherwise.”
Lindsay Good contributed.