Harvey Weinstein, who is jailed at Rikers Island and in failing health while he awaits his third rape trial, has filed an unusual lawsuit accusing his brother of siphoning funds from their company prior to its collapse.
In the complaint, filed in New York State court, Harvey Weinstein accuses his brother Bob Weinstein and David Glasser, the chief operating officer, of diverting funds to pay themselves bonuses and for other improper purposes.
The complaint seeks to reassign blame for the collapse of the Weinstein Co. in November 2017. The company filed for bankruptcy after the revelation of Harvey Weinstein’s decades of sexual assault and harassment allegations made him an industry pariah. But in Weinstein’s telling, his brother, Glasser and others were responsible for a “financial betrayal” that left the company weakened and ultimately insolvent.
Weinstein filed the complaint in response to a long-dormant breach of contract suit, which was filed in November 2017 by Len Blavatnik’s AI International Holdings. That lawsuit accuses Harvey Weinstein of failing to honor a personal guarantee to repay a $45 million loan.
The suit was put on hold when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2018. In March 2023, AI International Holdings agreed to dismiss the case, having recognized that Harvey Weinstein’s incarceration made it unlikely that it could collect on any judgment.
However, after signing the stipulation of dismissal, Weinstein’s lawyers had second thoughts and asked the court to keep the case open, in order to pursue a separate suit against Weinstein Co. officers and directors. His lawyer told the judge that Weinstein believed those officers had engaged in “looting of a burning house.”
Bob Weinstein received a subpoena from his brother in November 2024, seeking a deposition and various documents in connection with the AI International Holdings case. Bob Weinstein’s lawyer, Brian Kohn, filed a motion to quash the subpoena in January, arguing that Harvey Weinstein was abusing the discovery process to harass his brother — his “longtime nemesis” — in pursuit of meritless claims.
A bankruptcy judge authorized the distribution of the remaining Weinstein Co. assets to its various creditors in 2021. That process provided a venue for creditors to seek clawback of funds that were allegedly misappropriated. Kohn argued that the bankruptcy settlement makes Harvey Weinstein’s latest lawsuit “frivolous.”
The new lawsuit argues that Harvey Weinstein has been left on the hook for the $45 million guarantee due to the fraudulent actions of the other company officers. But Kohn argued that Harvey Weinstein deliberately passed up an opportunity to walk away from that debt with no strings attached, just so that he could sue his brother.
Kohn is seeking sanctions against Harvey Weinstein and his attorney, arguing that Bob Weinstein should be repaid for the cost of responding to the frivolous subpoena. In response, Harvey Weinstein’s attorney argued that the subpoena is part of a legitimate fact-finding effort that is relevant to the pending AI International Holdings litigation.
Harvey Weinstein, 72, is due in April to face a retrial on rape charges in Manhattan, after the state’s Court of Appeals overturned his initial conviction last year. He was also sentenced to 16 years in his Los Angeles rape case. He is suffering from a litany of illnesses, including bone marrow cancer, coronary artery disease and diabetes.
From Variety US