Bankruptcy

In the late 1990s and early aughts, the conservative Parents Television Council struck fear in the hearts of network TV executives for its high-profile campaigns against shows it deemed too raunchy.

The watchdog group, founded by conservative commentator L. Brent Bozell III, railed against Fox’s “Melrose Place” and “Family Guy”; NBC’s “Just Shoot Me”; and the CW’s “Gossip Girl.” It also singled out CBS following the infamous Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake “nipplegate” controversy during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show when the singer’s breast was briefly exposed.

But the Parents Television Council Inc. — whose members lodged thousands of indecency complaints with the Federal Communications Commission — has folded. Earlier this month, the Burbank-based nonprofit filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Delaware court, saying it had $284,823 in liabilities, which include staff member salaries, insurance payments and credit card debt. The filing lists $91,874 in assets.

The group’s demise reflects broad cultural changes, including a fractured media environment and consumers’ shift to streaming and social media apps such as TikTok for entertainment. Parents also have tools, including the ability to configure settings on streaming accounts to try to shield children from inappropriate content.

The PTC’s power came, in large part, from its ability to flood the FCC with indecency complaints. But the FCC, which licenses broadcasters, does not regulate streaming services, YouTube or TikTok.

The council had clout with advertisers, which put pressure on network programmers to minimize shows that would raise the group’s ire and threats of boycotts.

“I’m disappointed but I’m still very proud of what we did and what we achieved,” Tim Winter, former president of the group, said Friday. “We were able to raise awareness about so many important issues — issues that are still out there.”

“Like most businesses, it came down to money,” said Winter, who retired three years ago. “It’s just a slog out there to fundraise.”

Decades ago, the group hauled in millions of dollars in donations. The PTC boasted more than 653,000 members and supporters by 2000. However, in 2023, the most recent year of available tax reports, the Parents Television Council raised just $1.6 million, down from $4.7 million in 2007.

The group, which also went by Parents Television and Media Council, was formed in 1995 by Bozell as the Hollywood arm of his Virginia-based Media Research Center.

Bozell, long a booster of President Trump, now serves in his administration as ambassador to South Africa.

One of the PTC’s early efforts was to urge broadcasters to reserve the 8 p.m. hour for family-friendly fare. That was the custom of the networks in the 1970s; but two decades later, there was a rise in sexually suggestive content.

Over the years, the group hired analysts to monitor TV programming, published detailed reports and TV show rankings. Winter testified before a U.S. Senate committee hearing in 2007 on the impact of media violence on children.

Advertisers were sensitive to the PTC’s warnings.

“We were able to redirect tens of millions of dollars away from more explicit programming and into more family-friendly shows,” Winter said.

The PTC also spoke out against media consolidation, which accelerated in the 1990s, “the problem of having too few voices hold the microphone,” Winter said.

While it initially focused on broadcast shows, the group went after others, including Netflix when it offered the show “13 Reasons Why,” based on a book about a 17-year-old girl who died by suicide. The PTC, and other organizations, decried the series, fearing it would encourage more deaths.

Netflix responded by deleting a graphic suicide scene, and the show was later canceled.

“The media culture is no less toxic than it was years ago. And in some ways, it is more toxic,” Winter said, adding that other organizations will have to carry the mantle. “The mission is more important than ever.”

Oct. 5 (UPI) — After filing its second bankruptcy in May, the chain of Rite Aid drugstores have officially closed.

The store, which officially opened in 1962, began the large-scale shuttering of locations across the nation amid its first bankruptcy filing, in October 2023.

The company had some $4 billion in debt at that time amid lawsuits related to the company’s apparent handling of opioid medications.

In May, Matt Schroeder, Rite Aid’s CEO, said their financial woes were related to “the rapidly evolving retail and healthcare landscapes,” USA Today reports.

The store offloaded its prescription services to other pharmacies, including CVS, Walgreens, Albertsons, Kroger and Giant Eagle, and sold it’s ice cream brand to Hilrod Holdings, the outlet continued.

“All Rite Aid stores have now closed,” a statement on the company’s website now reads. “We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support.”

The chain had 89 active locations prior to the closing.

Sept. 22 (UPI) — Spirit Airlines plans to furlough 1,800 flight attendants, about one-third of cabin-crew members, to cut costs during its second bankruptcy in a year.

The airline filed for bankruptcy Aug. 30, less than six months after emerging from Chapter 11 reorganization.

The budget carrier said it was “executing a comprehensive restructuring of the airline to position the business for long-term success.” The company filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

“As we work to return Spirit to profitability, we face difficult decisions about our network, our fleet, and ultimately our workforce,” John Bendoraitis, Spirit’s chief operating officer, wrote in a memo sent to flight attendants on Monday, CNBC reported.

About 800 Spirit flight attendants already have been out on voluntary leaves of absence, which has helped the airline avoid involuntary furloughs, Bendoraitis said.

“However, there is a limit to how many people can volunteer for these types of leave, and we have reached that mark,” he said.

Spirit has about 5,200 flight attendants, who are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

“We have been able to mitigate harm for our workgroup until this point,” the AFA said in a message to members. “The problem is that the significant reduction of aircraft and flight hours requires a much higher reduction in force, and the company is clear that a furlough is necessary.”

Voluntary furloughs are also being offered to Spirit flight attendants starting in November, the union said.

“Management has also indicated, though not officially notified us yet, that they will be seeking changes to our contract per Section 1113 of the Bankruptcy Code. We do not have any further details on this at this time. Information will move quickly, though, and we encourage you to stay close to your AFA communications,” the AFA said.

The furlough announcement follows earlier cuts of the airline’s pilots. In the past several months, it has cut more than 500 pilot jobs.

Bendoraitis told the union, the Air Line Pilots Association, last week that that management is “available to continue to negotiate every day thereafter to reach a consensual agreement” by Oct. 1.

Earlier this month, Spirit cut routes to several cities, and United picked up some of those routes. Spirit said it will cease operations in Albuquerque, N.M.; Birmingham, Ala.; Boise, Idaho; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Columbia, S.C, Macon, Ga.; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City, Utah; plus California cities Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento and San Jose in October.

Damon Dash, the hip-hop mogul and record executive who co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, detailed dire financial straits as he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week.

The 54-year-old New York native claimed in his voluntary petition, reviewed by The Times, that he is in debt to the tune of $25.3 million. The petition, filed Thursday in Florida, says Dash makes no monthly income and has $4,350 to his name — including $100 in cash, a $500 cellphone and two guns worth $750.

A legal representative for Dash did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Monday.

Dash’s petition says he owes a total of $25,303,049.47 to as many as 49 creditors, with a majority of that (about $19.1 million) owed to the government in the form of taxes and other debts. He also owes nearly $648,000 in domestic support obligations to ex-wife Rachel Roy and ex-girlfriend Cindy Morales, the petition said. Dash and Roy were married from 2005 to 2009 and share two daughters. Dash shares a son with Morales, and has additional children from other relationships.

The petition confirms reports that Dash’s one-third share of Roc-A-Fella Records was auctioned to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance in August 2024 to help pay off his tax debt. Dash claims he is also owed a “possible” but unspecified amount of money from Burke, and also “unknown” amounts of money from his “possible” claims against actor Claudia Jordan, filmmaker Josh Webber and others he has battled in court.

“Dear Frank” filmmaker Webber and production company Muddy Water Pictures — also mentioned in Dash’s petition — sued the music entrepreneur for copyright infringement and defamation in 2019. A jury sided with the filmmakers in the spring of 2022 and ordered Dash to pay more than $800,000 in damages, but tensions from that decision have dragged into 2025. Webber last month accused Dash and the businessman’s girlfriend of hiding assets that would help pay off the hefty judgment, Complex reported.

Webber also sued Dash for libel and slander in April 2024. Dash was ordered earlier this year to pay the filmmaker $4 million.

As reports of his decision to file for bankruptcy spread, Dash seemingly took ownership of the financial revelations. On Instagram, he reshared a post from hip-hop-centric website WorldStar about his legal woes to his own page.

“Now let’s get to work #staytuned,” Dash captioned his post.

Aug. 30 (UPI) — Spirit Airlines announced it filed for bankruptcy, less than six months after emerging from Chapter 11 reorganization.

The budget carrier said Friday it is “executing a comprehensive restructuring of the airline to position the business for long-term success.” The company filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

After the filing, the South Florida-headquartered airline assured customers the carrier will continue service to most current locations.

“The most important thing to know is that Spirit continues to operate and offer high-value travel options,” Spirit said in a letter to all guests. “This means you can continue to book and travel with Spirit.

“Our flights continue to operate normally. You can use tickets, credits and loyalty points. You can continue to benefit from our Free Spirit loyalty program, Saver$ Club perks and credit card terms.”

Wages and benefits will continue for employees and contractors. Also, Spirit intends to pay vendors and suppliers for goods and services provided on or after the filing date.

“Our Team Members remain focused on offering you a safe journey, with excellent service and an elevated experience,” the airline told guests.

After emerging from bankruptcy the first time, Spirit said it planned to furlough about 270 pilots and downgrade some 140 captains to first officers between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1.

The total number of employees is 11,000.

Reorganization plans are focused on four areas:

• Redesigning its network to “focus its flying on key markets to provide more destinations, frequencies and enhanced connectivity in its focus cities.” That includes ending service in certain markets.
• Rightsizing fleet size “to match capacity with profitable demand in line with the redesigned network. This will significantly lower Spirit’s debt and lease obligations and is projected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual operating savings.”
• Addressing cost structure “to build on its industry-leading cost model by pursuing further efficiencies across the business.”
• Offering three new travel options of Spirit First, Premium Economy and Value. “Spirit will take full advantage of its lower costs to offer consumers more of what they want — value at every price point,” the airline said.

In March, Spirit said it was “emerging as a stronger and more focused airline” after declaring bankruptcy on Nov. 18 after poor quarterly performances. Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 with revenue severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the first bankruptcy, the airline received a $350 million equity investment from existing investors to support Spirit’s future initiatives. The airline emerged from its financial restructuring, completing a transaction that equitizes approximately $795 million of funded debt.

Common shares will now be traded on the over-the-counter market and delisted from the NYSE American Stock Exchange.

After emerging from the first bankruptcy, Spirit said Ted Christie would remain as chief executive but two months later, David Davis, 58, was named president and CEO. He most recently worked as the chief financial officer and a board member of Sun Country Airlines.

“Since emerging from our previous restructuring, which was targeted exclusively on reducing Spirit’s funded debt and raising equity capital, it has become clear that there is much more work to be done and many more tools are available to best position Spirit for the future,” Davis said. “After thoroughly evaluating our options and considering recent events and the market pressures facing our industry, our Board of Directors decided that a court-supervised process is the best path forward to make the changes needed to ensure our long-term success.

“We have evaluated every corner of our business and are proceeding with a comprehensive approach in which we will be far more strategic about our fleet, markets and opportunities in order to best serve our Guests, Team Members and other stakeholders.”

After the airline released its quarterly report earlier this month, Spirit revealed that it had “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business over the next year, citing “adverse market conditions.” It reported a net loss of $245.8 million for the second quarter of 2025. Revenue was $1.02 billion, down 20% from the previous year.

The carrier rejected repeated acquisition proposals from rival discounter Frontier Airlines and in January 2024, JetBlue’s purchase plans of the rival airline were rejected by antitrust regulators.

Spirit has 550 daily flights to 77 destinations, through the United States, the Caribbean and South America.

In terms of market share, Spirit is 4.4%. Delta Airlines is No. 1 at 17.9%, followed by American Airlines at 17.3%, Southwest Airlines at 16.3% and United Airlines at 16.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation statistics from June 2024 to May.

Spirit’s main hub is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Its two other major hubs: Orlando International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

EchoStar Corp. has agreed to sell spectrum licenses to AT&T Inc. for about $23 billion in a deal that will help the company stay out of bankruptcy and fend off regulatory concerns about its airwave use.

The sale will expand AT&T’s network and add about 50 megahertz of low-band and mid-band spectrum in an all-cash transaction, the Dallas telecommunications company said in a statement Tuesday. The deal is expected to close by mid-2026, pending regulatory approval.

The White House and the Federal Communications Commission were briefed about the transaction before the announcement, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions who asked to not be identified because the talks were private. America’s leadership in wireless services has a been a priority for President Trump, according to a White House official, who said the president believes this deal will accelerate the use of the wireless spectrum.

“We appreciate the productive and ongoing discussions with the EchoStar team,” FCC spokesperson Katie Gorscak said in a statement. “The FCC will continue to focus on ensuring the beneficial use of scarce spectrum resources.”

EchoStar shares jumped as much as 85% to hit the highest level on record after the announcement. AT&T shares were largely unchanged. Bonds in the broader EchoStar universe rallied. Dish DBS bonds due 2029 soared as much as 12 cents on the dollar to 83 cents and were the biggest gainers in the U.S. junk bond market, according to Trace pricing data. Trading in AT&T bonds was more than 10 times the average for this time of day.

The purchase price is $9 billion more than EchoStar paid for the spectrum and $5 billion more than the appraised value used in securitizing the assets, New Street Research’s Philip Burnett said in a research note Tuesday. Though $1.5 billion shy of New Street’s valuation, he said, the sale price was “nevertheless a great mark on value.”

Federal regulators have been pushing EchoStar to sell some of its airwaves after concerns it had failed to put valuable slices of wireless spectrum to use, Bloomberg reported in July. The FCC launched an investigation in May into whether EchoStar was meeting its obligations for its wireless and satellite spectrum rights. The company skipped bond payments and considered filing for bankruptcy, saying the investigation had stymied its ability to make decisions about its 5G network.

In a June meeting, first reported by Bloomberg, Trump urged EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to cut a deal to resolve the dispute. EchoStar shopped the assets to other would-be buyers, including Elon Musk’s Starlink, Bloomberg earlier reported.

AT&T said the acquisition of about 30 MHz of mid-band spectrum and 20 MHz of low-band spectrum will strengthen the company’s ability to deliver 5G and fiber services across the U.S. EchoStar will operate in the U.S. market as a hybrid mobile network operator under its Boost brand, the company said in the statement. AT&T will be its primary network partner for wireless service.

In a separate news release, Ergen called the sale and related agreement to work with AT&T “critical steps toward resolving the FCC’s spectrum utilization concerns.”

The U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a statement posted on X that it has been working with the FCC and other parties for several months on the EchoStar matter and would review the transaction.

On a conference call with investors Tuesday, AT&T Chief Executive John Stankey said regulators shouldn’t be concerned that the transaction was putting too much wireless spectrum in the hands of the largest telecom carriers.

“The dynamics of what’s occurring in the market support the fact that concentration really isn’t an issue,” Stankey said. “Getting more capacity out into the market is ultimately a good thing for consumers over the long haul.”

AT&T has been spending heavily to expand its fiber-optic network across the country and previously said it would use cash savings from Trump’s tax and spending bill to accelerate those plans. In May, it agreed to buy the consumer fiber operations of Lumen Technologies Inc. for $5.75 billion, expanding its fast broadband service in major cities such as Denver and Las Vegas.

The company intends to finance the EchoStar deal with a combination of cash on hand and borrowings. AT&T maintained its earlier projections for as much as $20 billion for share repurchases through 2027. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. advised AT&T on the EchoStar acquisition.

EchoStar had $5 billion of cash on its balance sheet and subsequently committed to resuming bond payments including interest on the defaulted amounts. Its bond prices signaled that creditors weren’t expecting big losses even against the implied threat of a bankruptcy, which may have provided a fast way to get a federal judge to mediate a process that could otherwise drag on.

Solon, Griffis and Dlouhy write for Bloomberg.

FASHION accessories chain Claire’s is facing an uncertain future on UK high streets, after its US parent firm filed for bankruptcy.

It is the second time the ear-piercing favourite has declared itself bust, after previously filing for bankruptcy in 2018.

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Its finances are now under pressure from weak consumer demand and supply chain uncertainty.

The filings showed that the parent business reported liabilities of up to $10billion (£7billion) and owed between 25,000 and 50,000 creditors.

Claire’s operates 2,750 stores worldwide, including 280 in the UK.

While British stores remain unaffected for now, the UK arm has lost £25million over the past three years and is at risk of collapsing into administration later this month.

It has been working with advisers to explore a sale or restructuring.

However, potential buyers, such as Hilco Capital, are understood to have walked away.

Retail experts say Claire’s is struggling to stay relevant.

Julie Palmer, from Begbies Traynor, said: “Claire’s low-price offering is clearly not strong enough to win over its core customers — teens and young adults — as they now have access to a vast array of affordable and convenient products online through platforms like Amazon and Temu.”

Claire’s boss Chris Cramer said: “We remain in active discussions with potential strategic and financial partners and are committed to completing our review of strategic alternatives.”

METRO BANK ON THE UP

METRO BANK has bounced back, posting a £43.1million pre-tax profit for the first half of 2025 — up from a £33.5million loss reported in the same period last year.

The lender doubled new corporate and small business loans to £1billion, and cut 8 per cent from its costs by axing a third of its workforce and reducing branch hours.

Boss Daniel Frumkin said: “Our strong performance reflects the decisive actions we have taken.”

Elsewhere, Sabadell shareholders have approved the £2.65billion sale of TSB to Santander.

Merit Street Media, the TV network launched last year by talk show host Phil McGraw, has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors and is suing its distribution partner, Trinity Broadcasting Network.

McGraw’s company filed the suit Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court claiming Fort Worth-based Christian media firm Trinity, or TBN, failed to meet its obligations to provide studio space and secure TV stations and pay TV distributors to carry Merit.

McGraw, who hosted the successful syndicated talk show “Dr. Phil” for 21 years, entered a joint venture in 2023 with Trinity, which agreed to carry Merit on its TV stations across the country and provide production services.

But according to the suit, McGraw is funding the struggling venture out of his pocket — shelling out $25 million over six months. The company laid off 40 employees in June and had to terminate its TV deal with Professional Bull Riders after failing to pay its rights fee.

Merit Street’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing lists the company’s liabilities at $100 million to $500 million. The document, filed in Texas, gives the same range for the value of Merit Street’s assets. Like TBN, Merit Street is based in Fort Worth.

TBN did not respond to a request for comment on the suit.

Merit Street carries “Dr. Phil Primetime,” in which the host delivers right-of-center political commentary as well as guest interviews. The program was put on summer hiatus when the June layoffs were announced.

McGraw recently attracted attention when the show had a camera embedded with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during immigration raids in Los Angeles.

McGraw, once a practicing psychologist, became a self-help guru propelled to fame by Oprah Winfrey, who hired him to help prepare her for a libel case brought by the Texas Beef Group in 1996. Since leaving his daily talk show, he has emerged as a political commentator who is supportive of President Trump.

Merit also has a nightly newscast and a true crime program featuring veteran legal commentator Nancy Grace.

The lawsuit claims Merit’s operations were hampered by TBN’s contracted technical services, which it described as “comically dysfunctional.” Teleprompters and monitors allegedly blacked out during live programs with a studio audience.

TBN was using “amateur” video editing software and Merit staff were unable to use phones in the studio due to poor cellphone coverage, the suit added.

McGraw’s company, Peteski Productions, launched Merit in a joint venture with TBN, which offers religious programming to its TV stations and affiliates across the country.

As the majority owner, TBN was required to provide all back office and production services for Merit. TBN was also obligated to cover the cost of distributing Merit’s programs on its outlets and pay TV providers, the suit said.

The lawsuit claims TBN failed to provide that service, forcing Merit Street to enter its own agreements to get the network carried on TV stations and cable and satellite providers at a cost of $96 million. TBN’s failure to pay led to a number of TV stations to drop Merit Street programming.

The suit also claims TBN failed to deliver promised marketing and promotional services, only providing minimal social media advertising.

TBN missed a $5-million payment to Merit in July 2024, which led the partners to change the terms of their arrangement, the complaint said. Merit became the 70% owner, with TBN taking a 30% stake. But the suit claims TBN still failed to meet its contractual obligations.

The suit said that TBN’s failure to fund Merit forced McGraw and Peteski to provide $25.4 million to finance the network’s operations from December 2024 to May 2025.

July 4 (UPI) — Former daytime television talk show host Phil McGraw‘s JV Merit Street Media has filed for bankruptcy protection and sued its business partner, Trinity Broadcasting, for breach of contract, saying it destroyed his television network.

McGraw, known as Dr. Phil, hosted his talk show for 21 years before it ended after the 2022-2023 season, a program that remained on the air in syndication.

Merit Street’s lawsuit focuses on Christian television broadcaster Trinity Broadcasting Network, and claims it violated distribution agreements.

“Trinity Broadcasting Network is being sued by Merit Street Media for failing to provide clearly agreed upon national distribution and other significant foundational commitments critical to the network’s continuing success and viability,” according to a statement from MSM, Deadline.com reported. “The suit is part of a restructuring proceeding also initiated by MSM.”

TBN was founded in 1973 by televangelist Paul Crouch and his wife, Jan, and is currently operated by Matthew Crouch. In 2000, Paul Crouch was sued for $40 million by author Sylvia Fleener, who accused Paul Crouch of plagiarism in his book The Omega Code, which had an apocalyptic, end times theme.

Crouch was also accused of paying a former male employee $425,000 to keep the man quiet about a sexual relationship Crouch had with him.

Under terms of the deal, TBN was to distribute original versions of McGraw’s content at no cost in exchange for a controlling equity interest in the network, the lawsuit said.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing comes just weeks after the company laid off 40 employees, the second round of job cuts which followed layoffs in Aug. 2024 that saw the company release a third of its staff.

Del Monte’s losses have piled up as consumers choose healthier or cheaper alternatives.

Del Monte Foods, the 139-year-old company best known for its canned fruits and vegetables, is filing for bankruptcy protection as consumers in the United States increasingly bypass its products for healthier or cheaper options.

Del Monte announced the bankruptcy filing late Tuesday.

Del Monte, which also owns the Contadina tomato brand, College Inn and Kitchen Basics broth brands and the Joyba bubble tea brand, has secured $912.5m in debtor-in-possession financing that will allow it to operate normally as the sale progresses.

The Walnut Creek, California-based brand has assets and liabilities ranging from $1bn to $10bn, according to a filing in a New Jersey bankruptcy court.

“After a thorough evaluation of all available options, we determined a court-supervised sale process is the most effective way to accelerate our turnaround and create a stronger and enduring Del Monte Foods,” CEO Greg Longstreet said in a statement.

The company has seen sales growth of Joyba and broth in the 2024 fiscal year, but not enough to offset weaker sales of Del Monte’s signature canned products.

“Consumer preferences have shifted away from preservative-laden canned food in favour of healthier alternatives,” Sarah Foss, global head of legal and restructuring at Debtwire, a financial consultancy, told the news agency The Associated Press.

Grocery inflation also caused consumers to seek out cheaper store brands. Last month, the consumer price index report showed a 0.3 percent increase in the price of food and 2.2 percent compared with this time last year.

Another blow is expected from US President Donald Trump’s 50 percent tariff on imported steel. This went into effect in June and will also push up the price that Del Monte and others pay for cans.

Del Monte Foods, which is owned by Singapore’s Del Monte Pacific, was also hit with a lawsuit last year by a group of lenders that objected to the company’s debt restructuring plan. The case was settled in May with a loan that increased Del Monte’s interest expenses by $4m annually, according to a company statement.

Del Monte’s stock is about even from the market open, and it is up 4.62 percent over the last five days.

He had the ability to communicate with God, the angels and one of the most powerful spirits in the voodoo religion.

This is what Won-G Bruny had been texting Lil Mosey for years. Bruny, a music manager who himself had started out as a hip-hop artist, believed he had a special connection with the spiritual realm that would help guide the up-and-coming Mosey’s rap career. In 2021, Bruny took the musician, then 19, to his native Haiti where, deep in the woods, he blessed the young man with what he described as his family power. After Mosey was accused of rape, Bruny urged him to partake in a Haitian rum-bath ritual; when Mosey was acquitted in March 2023, Bruny told him the voodoo gods had taken a hand in the verdict.

Won-G Bruny, left, and Lil Mosey attend the 66th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

(Johnny Nunez / Getty Images for the Recording Academy)

Bruny soon began urging Mosey to get out of his contract with Interscope Records, the company that signed him in 2017, after the then-16-year old’s debut single went viral. During Mosey’s five-year relationship with Interscope, Bruny believed the would-be star was not compensated fairly by the label.

“I want to express my disappointment on how … Interscope … have treated Mosey. I think it’s disgusting and despicable. You play with my clients career and have caused him mental trama [sic] …,” Bruny wrote in an August 2023 email to two executive vice presidents at Interscope that was viewed by The Times. “Believe me, you’ve never dealt with anyone like me in real life from the spiritual haiti [sic] I am indigenous and have techniques that the eye cannot see. If 48 hours go by and we do not have a release this is going public in a very bad way for you and Interscope. And I will arrive to your office soon as the worst [N-word] you every [sic] met.”

The message was signed: “Worst Nightmare.”

Interscope’s media representatives and the label executives Bruny emailed did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

Angela Thatcher, Mosey’s mother, never had a good feeling about Bruny. After accompanying her son on the trip to Haiti, the early-childhood educator had advised him to be wary of Bruny: “If he’s trying to finesse you,” she said she told him, “please do not fall for it. I think he talks a lot bigger than he actually is.”

Big was how Bruny lived. On social media, he portrayed himself as a wealthy jetsetter, driving around Beverly Hills in a buffed Rolls-Royce one day, partying with soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo on a private yacht in the United Arab Emirates the next. He favored the trappings of the hip-hop culture he’d aspired to since he was a boy: heavy diamond chains, Rolex watches, tailored blazers that showcased his considerable biceps. His shiny veneers and taut skin make it difficult to ascertain his age — public records list various birth dates, putting him somewhere in the range of 46 to 53.

By the time he met Mosey, Bruny had spent decades honing his skills as a promoter. When he embarked on his career as a rapper in his 20s, he got Paris Hilton and Carmen Electra to appear in his music videos and turned up on “The Real Housewives of Orange County” to help one of its stars record her first song. He teamed with former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca on a ballot initiative, promoting himself as a law enforcement-friendly rapper. For a time, he managed rappers Sean Kingston and Tyga. These were among the associations he boasted of in the promotional materials he shared with potential investors, collaborators and those Interscope executives to spotlight his accomplishments.

Won-G and Paris Hilton

(Getty Images / Jeff Kravitz via FilmMagic)

Mosey’s mother didn’t buy it. Though she had no evidence that Bruny was defrauding Mosey, Thatcher believed the manager was a negative influence. In 2023, she started doing more than just regularly checking the Instagram page where Bruny had 487,000 followers. When Google searches turned up references to lawsuits and scam alert websites, she hired a private investigator. The findings revealed numerous civil suits against Bruny alleging breach of contract, as well as a bankruptcy filing.

Thatcher shared the report with her son. But Mosey, just a few weeks out of his Interscope contract, continued working with Bruny, cutting ties with his old representatives and, according to Thatcher, distancing himself from her.

In October 2024, Thatcher died unexpectedly, of “a severe infection,” according to her obituary. She was 55.

“I just want my son away from [Bruny],” Thatcher said in an interview with The Times last summer. “I think he’s being controlled and manipulated by this guy who has convinced him that everyone in his life is against him, including his own family.”

A Times investigation found that, over the past two decades, Bruny has utilized a perception of affluence, supposed personal ties to celebrity and references to Haitian voodoo to convince more than two dozen people to give him thousands of dollars in investments or loans — money that they never saw again, according to lawsuits and bankruptcy filings. In the last 20 years, Bruny, or companies associated with him, have been sued at least 19 times in Los Angeles County Superior Court; in nine of those cases, he was ordered to pay judgments amounting to more than $2.1 million, none of which was ever paid.

During that period, he filed for bankruptcy three times in California, most recently in 2019, when between his personal and business Chapter 7 records he was discharged of roughly $9.9 million in debt liabilities.

Lawsuits and bankruptcy filings show a striking range of individuals who say they lost money through investments in Bruny’s music career and fashion line, including a septuagenarian Old Hollywood starlet, a cancer patient, a former girlfriend, an Australian fashion designer, an airline pilot and a UCLA professor who served on committees for Presidents Biden and Obama. Because the U.S. Bankruptcy Court found he had no legal obligation to pay his debts, none of them were ever repaid by Bruny.

Bruny did not respond to multiple requests for comment or a detailed list of questions sent to him by The Times via email and social media. His lawyer, Kenneth Sterling, said in a statement: “We find no merit to the allegations or implications currently circulating regarding Mr. Bruny. While, like many others, Mr. Bruny acknowledges he has grown from mistakes made in the distant past, these are nearly or more than a decade old and wholly irrelevant to his current work or character. It is worth noting that this current media inquiry appears to have been instigated by a former manager and relative of one of Mr. Bruny’s clients — individuals who, based on credible information, mismanaged and acted in their own financial interests at the expense of the artist.

“To be clear: Mr. Bruny has never been arrested, charged, or the subject of any criminal investigation. He has no criminal record. Any civil matters from years past have long been resolved and are, in every sense, ancient history. We live in a society that believes in growth, redemption, and new chapters — Mr. Bruny embodies all three.”

Mosey declined to be interviewed for this story, saying via text message that he had “nothing but great things to say about Won.” When asked specifically if he believed a former manager and relative mismanaged and acted in their own financial interests at his expense, Mosey did not respond.

Lil Mosey, now 23, was born Lathan Moses Stanley Echols; his father, Thatcher said, wasn’t very involved in his upbringing. He was 15 when his music started to take off online — he and his two brothers created a makeshift studio in a closet of their Washington state home, where Mosey made music that he then uploaded onto SoundCloud. In late 2017, his song “Pull Up” garnered attention on a rap blog. Music manager Josh Marshall reached out and flew the then-16-year-old and his mother to New York City. After discussions with about half a dozen companies, Mosey, represented by Marshall, signed with Interscope in March 2018. His debut album, “Northsbest,” was released that same year.

By 10th grade, Mosey had dropped out of high school and gone on tour with Juice WRLD and YBN Cordae. He told Billboard at the time that he was surprised by his sudden popularity. Asked how his mother was reacting to his newfound fame, Mosey told the magazine: “She always told me like, ‘Why do you want to do this? Why don’t you wait? You can always do this later. You could just be a normal kid.’ … But you can’t do it later. The time is now.”

Mosey’s sophomore album, “Certified Hitmaker,” took him to the next level. Featuring Chris Brown and Gunna, the 2019 release yielded the rapper’s first hit single: “Blueberry Faygo.” After the song went viral on TikTok, Mosey inked a $4-million deal with Universal Music Publishing Group in May 2020; to date, “Blueberry Faygo” has amassed 1.4 billion streams on Spotify.

His ascent to stardom came to an abrupt halt in April 2021, when the state of Washington charged Mosey with second-degree rape. An affidavit filed in Lewis County Superior Court alleged that, in January 2020, Mosey had sex at a house party with a young woman who was too intoxicated to consent.

Interscope did not terminate Mosey’s contract but put its work with the rapper on pause until a verdict was reached.

Tyga, left, and Won-G in 2019.

(Johnny Nunez / Getty Images)

According to Thatcher, it was during the two-year trial that Mosey’s relationship with Bruny deepened. He had met Bruny through Sean Kingston, then best known for the 2007 hit “Beautiful Girls.”

According to press clippings he posted on social media, Won-G Bruny was born in Port-Au Prince, Haiti, and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 13. Bruny’s father, MacNeal Bruny, has said he was a high-ranking member of the Haitian army during the authoritarian regime of Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier. After MacNeal noticed an advertisement for a company that would press compact discs for cheap, Bruny embarked on a music career, releasing his first independent rap album in 1995.

In 2001, he teamed up with an unlikely partner — Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, who was attempting to become a rap mogul. Mangue released Bruny’s third album on his newly launched TNO Entertainment.

But that album was unsuccessful, and TNO never released any music of note. When Bruny filed for bankruptcy for the first time, in 2002, he owed TNO $75,000 relating to a recording contract.

Bruny forged ahead. In 2004, he landed his first record deal with a major label: Sanctuary Urban, an imprint headed by Beyoncé’s dad, Mathew Knowles. That year, Bruny also teamed up with L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca to support a ballot initiative that proposed raising taxes to fund broader law enforcement. To help gather signatures for the initiative, Bruny said he planned to drive around the city with his “Haiti Boys Street Team” in 28 Ford Excursions with 27-inch wheels plastered with decals of him and Baca.

“Pictures belie personality,” Baca told the Los Angeles Daily News, which described Bruny as a “rapper with a $250,000 Elvis watch and penchant for fur coats and Rolls-Royces.” “He’s a faith-based hip-hop star. No vulgarity. No anti-public safety … There’s nothing in his work that’s bad boy.”

But Bruny had had at least one previous run-in with the law. In 1998, a judge in Pomona granted Bruny’s ex-girlfriend a one-year domestic violence restraining order. In court documents, the woman claimed that she and Bruny had been dating for two years and “during that time he demonstrated extreme physical violence by kicking, slapping, grabbing, bruising, spitting on my face and cutting my face.”

A year after his philanthropic efforts with the sheriff, Bruny began facing a string of lawsuits. There were four in 2005 alone, all alleging breach of contract. One case revolved around Bruny’s first role in a movie, an independent film called “Hack!” During production, the plaintiff — director Mike Wittlin — claimed that Bruny missed a day of shooting, leading the actor and the filmmaker to get into a heated verbal dispute. Following the argument, Bruny refused to return to set, according to the lawsuit. In his complaint, Wittlin said he then received an email from Bruny’s father, MacNeal, drafted “on behalf” of his son, which read: “I’m from a Royal family, little do you know. … I’m a self-made man and a self-made millionaire.”

When he was deposed in 2006, Bruny arrived wearing what Wittlin’s attorney described as a “large diamond ring” that Bruny said was owned by his father. “I just told you I don’t own anything,” Bruny said, according to the transcript. “I’m not a millionaire, I’m bankrupt.”

The court ultimately dismissed the case on the condition that Bruny pay $25,000 to the plaintiffs; according to a 2008 court judgment, he breached that settlement and was subsequently ordered to pay $108,236.25 in damages and fees. Wittlin told The Times he never received any of the money.

A clean-cut, God-fearing rapper. That was how Bruny represented himself to a pair of friends in their 70s.

Gita Hall, then 71, and Terry Moore, then 75, met for lunch nearly every day at Caffe Roma in 2004. They’d reminisce about the golden era of Hollywood: Hall, a onetime Miss Stockholm, had been photographed by Richard Avedon as a Revlon model and appeared in films like 1958’s “The Gun Runners”; Moore earned an Oscar nomination for her turn in 1952’s “Come Back, Little Sheba,” had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and dated Howard Hughes.

Grant Cramer, Moore’s son and a film producer, had an office a block away from his mother’s favorite restaurant in Beverly Hills. One day, she wandered in unannounced with Hall and about 10 Haitian men he’d never met.

“They all sat down and said, ‘We are hereby announcing that we are becoming hip-hop moguls,’” said Cramer. “‘We’re going to raise all this money and become his producers.’”

He was stunned. He was fairly certain the women had never heard a hip-hop song before. After Bruny and his entourage left the office, Cramer tried desperately to talk them out of their new plan.

“But they were dead set on it,” said Cramer. “I said, ‘You’re going to lose your money. You don’t know who these guys are.’ And they said, ‘Oh, yes, we do. They’re Christian.’ Bruny had shown them this video he made with Paris Hilton, told them it was the new hottest thing, that he needed money to release a new album and they were gonna make 10 times their money.’”

(Through her publicist, Hilton did not respond to a request for comment.)

Hall had just moved back to Los Angeles after decades in Manhattan following the death of her husband. She wasn’t wealthy but had enough money to sustain her lifestyle, said one of her daughters, Tracie May Wagner.

Wagner joined Hall and Bruny for dinner at Mr. Chow one evening in an attempt to suss out her mother’s unlikely new friend.

“He rolls in, in his Rolls-Royce, handshake handshake, I know everybody on the planet,” remembered Wagner, a former entertainment publicist who now lives in Vietnam. “On first impression, he was very kind and sweet and doting. He would open the door for you. He would pull out my mother’s chair. He’d have this look in his eye of adoration, like, ‘I’m such a fan of yours. I know you were such a movie star.’ He would just keep playing into her reliving her golden years in her heyday.”

Hall ultimately loaned Bruny $93,000 under a contract that promised she’d be repaid in six months. But the day she and Moore transferred their money to Bruny, “Won-G and the money disappeared,” Cramer said.

“No album, no nothing,” said Cramer, who did not know the sum Moore invested. “Money’s gone.”

Hall sued Bruny, making similar allegations. In 2007, a judge ordered the rapper to pay her $107,319.45 — a sum her attorney said the family was unlikely to ever collect.

“When it was time to seize assets, he had none,” said Hall’s daughter, Wagner. “The mansion in Beverly Hills, all the cars, the jewelry — it was all registered under someone else’s name.”

That same year, Bruny appeared on two episodes of the Orange County installment of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise. In Season 2, cast member Jo De La Rosa decided she wanted to be a singer. She invited Bruny and another producer to her home to discuss the possibility of collaborating.

“Won-G is a rap artist, producer, super-talented, amazing person,” De La Rosa said in a voice-over as Bruny exited a white Rolls-Royce in her driveway. “He’s worked with some big names in the music industry.”

De La Rosa recorded a song with Bruny but soon abandoned her musical pursuits. Bruny also shifted in another direction, attempting to expand his brand from music to fashion.

Taking a page from wealthy rappers like Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Sean “Diddy” Combs, he created an extensive pitch deck for investors, explaining how he’d use his music career to leverage “ancillary revenue possibilities” with a clothing line called Sovage. His business documents said he had signed Philippe Naouri, one of the designers behind Antik Denim, to create his jeans. (Naouri did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)

Bruny’s deck also included collages of him with dozens of celebrities — Kanye West, Bill Maher, Fergie — as well as images of him taken by paparazzi. His pitch said his forthcoming album would feature “exciting collaborations” with artists like Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys and Timbaland, none of which ever came to fruition.

In 2001, Garry Heath, a technology executive, loaned Bruny $170,000. When he reached out to Bruny for repayment, Heath said the rapper warned him to stop “harassing” him because his father was “connected in Haiti. My family could really do damage to you if you don’t watch out.” One day, Heath said, Bruny’s father and brother turned up at his home in Orange County trying “to bury some voodoo thing in my yard that was gonna ‘protect me’ from losing my money or something … they wanted me to pay them, or else it was going to turn into a curse.”

In 2016, Heath finally decided to take Bruny to court. After a process server was unable to track him down to deliver legal documents for nearly two years, Heath said, a judge ultimately decided that posting the lawsuit on Bruny’s active Facebook page constituted service.

Bruny evaded service and court proceedings so many times that at least seven plaintiffs, including Heath, received default judgments in their favor in advance of any trials.

When she was fighting to recoup her late mother’s money, Wagner often relied on her connections with colleagues in the publicity industry to find out what events Bruny might attend. Then she’d show up to confront him. But after a few years without any movement in court, she backed off. “I knew it was never going to amount to anything, and I started having fear,” she said.

In December 2019, Bruny filed for personal bankruptcy and non-individual bankruptcy on behalf of his company, Real Sovage, claiming $9.9 million in debt liabilities. In his bankruptcy documents, Bruny said his personal assets amounted to just $10,700, about half of which consisted of “real & costume jewelry.”

“Debtor is currently living with friends until he is back up on his feet,” said the paperwork. “He hopes to be able to move into his own home within the next 6 months.”

On Instagram, Bruny had been depicting a very different image. Earlier that year, he posted a photo featuring himself, the rapper Tyga (his first major management client) and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. “I’m so happy to be your friend and to study and learn your method to success,” the caption of the February 2019 photo read. (A source close to Bezos said the billionaire doesn’t know Bruny and has never interacted with him beyond posing for the photograph.)

In October, Bruny’s dad shared an image on Facebook of a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon — which retails for over $100,000 — describing it as “A VERY EXPENSIVE & PRECIOUS GIFT FROM WON-G AND HIS PARTNER TO SHOW ME THEIR APPRECIATION”.

Angered by the lifestyle he saw online, Heath — whom Bruny had yet to pay a $229,984 judgment — unsuccessfully attempted to get his money back in court.

“He had the audacity to come to court in a T-shirt and flip-flops, looking like he was in poverty just a few days after posting pictures of himself driving a Rolls-Royce car and wearing a Rolex watch,” said Heath, who presented images from Bruny’s Instagram page to the court. “He said the car was borrowed from a friend and the gold chains and watch were fakes.”

After a bankruptcy is filed, creditors can meet a trustee to ask questions about the finances of the debtor. In California, creditors then have 60 days to file a complaint like Heath did, objecting to the discharging of a specific debt. It is unclear if any of the 25 other creditors listed in Bruny’s personal filing took this step — but legal experts say such paperwork often falls through the cracks.

“Bankruptcy is premised on all the creditors receiving notice of the bankruptcy case and either taking action or not. But people don’t read their mail,” said Evan Borges, the attorney who represented “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Girardi in the bankruptcy proceedings against her estranged husband, disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi. “It’s a hard-and-fast deadline to file a complaint, and if people miss it, they’re screwed.”

Without such complaints, it falls on the trustee appointed by the Justice Department to monitor Chapter 7 cases for potential fraud. “But they drop the ball all the time,” said Borges. “They’re there as watchdogs to safeguard the integrity of the system, and they’re supposed to refer people who have abused the bankruptcy system to the United States attorney for criminal prosecution. But they’re extremely overworked and can barely keep up.”

Even as he filed bankruptcy, Bruny was entering a business relationship with Tyga, a Grammy-nominated artist whose hit “Rack City” was then quadruple platinum. In his subsequent press materials, Bruny took credit for orchestrating “a huge comeback” for Tyga, whose music had become less popular than his relationship with Kylie Jenner.

But Bruny and Tyga parted acrimoniously. In April 2022, Bruny sued Tyga, alleging breach of contract and promissory fraud, saying he was owed $800,000 for his work on behalf of the rapper. A few months later, Bruny’s lawyer requested the case be dismissed. (Tyga did not respond to a request for comment sent to his publicist.)

By then, Bruny had moved on with Kingston, another partnership that would crash and burn.

“He promised us the world. He promised my son, ‘If you sign the papers, I have a $3-million deal,’” Janice Turner, Kingston’s mother, said in an interview.

During the year Kingston and Bruny worked together, Turner said, Bruny received 20% of everything Kingston made off his prior hits, but they were not satisfied with the partnership. Turner said she kicked Bruny out of the house he was sharing with her and Kingston and fired him. “I told him, ‘You’re a failed artist trying to live through other people,’” she said. “He was upset with me. He said that’s why God doesn’t like me.”

(In March, in a case unrelated to Bruny, a Florida jury found Turner and Kingston guilty of wire fraud for failing to pay for more than $1 million in luxury goods. Turner and Kingston await sentencing in July.)

As Bruny’s relationship with Kingston soured, he was strengthening his bond with Lil Mosey.

They began sharing a Redondo Beach rental — “I have a mansion in Beverly Hills, but it’s cooler here for the summer,” Bruny claimed, according to Mosey’s mom Thatcher. By the fall, Bruny had floated his first business proposition to Mosey: investing $50,000 in a four-unit apartment building being built by a company called Harmony Real Estate Developments.

“See when Justin [Bieber] gave Scooter [Braun] his trust they went to billions,” Bruny texted Mosey in February 2023, when he sent through more details about the project. “This is how I want to be for you as being seen together as business partners will take us to a whole new level.”

But Mosey’s team advised him against pursuing the opportunity. His funds were dwindling as he continued to fight the rape charge. As a jury prepared to deliver its verdict, Bruny urged Mosey to partake in a rum-bath ritual, according to two sources close to the situation. In the voodoo religion, rum baths are used “for good luck or to take off something bad,” said Elizabeth McAlister, a Wesleyan University professor whose research centers on Afro-Carribbean religions like Haitian voodoo.

On March 2, 2023, Mosey was acquitted.

“It’s been tough, mentally,” the rapper admitted to Billboard in an interview a month later. “It sucks to have something like that be attached to my name, knowing I didn’t do it, and the whole world can see that. … I feel like my last two years kind of been a sickness.”

While facing bills from the trial and the interruption of his music career, Mosey’s bank account had dwindled from millions down to a couple hundred thousand dollars — and he owed more than that in legal bills, according to a former business associate who requested anonymity because he still works in the music industry. Mosey’s team worked out a payment plan with Mosey’s attorney and jumped into action, setting up a nationwide college tour to bring in immediate revenue.

But Mosey wasn’t interested in doing the shows.

“Suddenly this tour that had been put in place wasn’t enough money, and he kept saying he deserved more,” his mother said.

Then Mosey began requesting his financial documents from his accounting team — materials he had never before asked to view. The team obliged. Gathering nearly 70,000 pages of bank statements, royalty metrics and tax returns, members of Mosey’s team, his mother and Marshall, met in L.A.

At the Glendale rental where Mosey was staying, Thatcher said, the team presented a new business strategy, suggesting new profit avenues like a beverage company or a lifestyle brand. But Mosey felt like he was being ambushed, his mother said.

Before she left, Thatcher made a final plea: “Please promise me you won’t sign a contract with Won-G,” she said. “Think about it. Talk to other people. You don’t have to sign a contract with him yet.”

Thatcher did not manage her son’s career, though she was a signer on his bank account when he was a minor. In recent years, he sent her around $4,000 a month to cover her rent in Washington, according to Mosey’s former business associate. Sometimes, Thatcher said, she would offer Mosey financial advice — “I think you’re spending too much. I know it feels like a lot of money right now, but this is not gonna last you forever” — but he disregarded it. She was also wary of becoming “that mom that took money from my son,” so she kept her job in the education sector.

Before her death, she’d started work on a trilogy of children’s books with an L.A.-based husband-and-wife writing team, Maya Sloan and Thomas Warming. The couple became some of the only people she confided to about Mosey.

“I felt terrible for Angela, because I saw her desperation and anguish when she’d come to L.A. in the hopes of just having a brief moment with her son,” said Warming. “She would keep motel rooms and wait for him to call or sit in cars outside his house to try to talk to him. That’s how difficult it had become.”

Sloan began helping Thatcher research Bruny and connected her with a private investigator. When the PI report confirmed Thatcher’s fears, she pressed Mosey for an in-person meeting. According to Thatcher, Mosey went home and read through the background documents. A half an hour later, he called, saying “I don’t know what to do. I’m really confused.’”

“I said, ‘Well, I know you’ve signed a contract with him. But if you really want, there’s always a way out. And I’m here for you,’” Thatcher said.

That night, he left the home he shared with Bruny and stayed in a hotel. Still uneasy, he flew back to Seattle to visit his family in Washington. But by the end of the trip, any concerns he’d had about Bruny had seemingly vanished. He returned to L.A., and they continued working together.

Mosey had given his mother something that would provide her with insight into his relationship with Bruny: His old phone, which was still logged into Mosey’s account. She had access to his text messages.

She began scrolling through her son’s interactions with Bruny. In August 2023, she saw herself mentioned: Mosey was urging him to stop mentioning voodoo in conversation with his mother.

“you gotta stop saying your the reason i beat the case bro cuz even if ogu is the reason i beat it anybody that does not know what voodoo is will not believe you and it makes you look bad for trying to take credit,” Mosey said in a text message. “not saying that you and ogu did not help i’m just saying it makes you look bad cuz most people will not believe you.”

But in the days that followed, Bruny mentioned Ogu, a warrior god, numerous times as the battle with Interscope ramped up.

“papa ogu never loses or fails. … I have won battles taken Artist out of many situations that are legal contractual,” Bruny texted his client. “You have to be a killer, I’m like trump. … You have 24 hours to give me a answer or I will drop a bomb on you.”

After Bruny sent his Aug. 22 email to Interscope executives demanding Mosey be let out of his contract, text messages revealed he continued to press other members of the rapper’s team. Two days later, he messaged Marshall, Mosey’s prior manager, demanding him to aid in the situation with the record label.

“I now have everybody’s home address and will pop up to their home at 1 AM in the morning and start waking them up by knocking on your door,” Bruny wrote to Marshall in a text reviewed by The Times. “We are very smart it is not a threat. It is not a violent act in America. You’re allowed to walk up to anybody you want and have a discussion with them.” (Marshall did not respond to interview requests for this story.)

In the end, Interscope agreed to let Mosey out of his contract with the stipulation that the company would continue to collect around 2% of his future earnings, according to the former business associate.

“my Power is ordained by God, No one will understand the angels that walk with me,” Bruny texted Mosey after the deal was executed. “My father & Ogu walk with us, interscope are fools … What interscope feared happened., you finding me was the blow. God, Ogu destroyed all of them, including that lying bitch in court.”

Thatcher was so worried about her son that she consulted Rick Ross, a cult intervention specialist whom she and Sloan had seen pop up in a few true crime documentaries. While she considered hiring Ross, she continued to strategize with Sloan. Last August, they approached the FBI about Bruny, then met with the director of the Bureau of Fraud & Corruption Prosecutions in the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.

A source close to the D.A.’s office confirmed a meeting with Thatcher and Sloan took place but said no investigation into Bruny was pending. Laura Eimiller, the FBI’s media coordinator, said the bureau does not confirm or deny information provided to the organization unless it results in a court charge.

Two months later, Thatcher died.

Sloan, who spoke to her the night before her death, said she was slurring her words because her “tongue wasn’t working right.” Thatcher told her friend that a doctor told her she’d be OK and that she just needed to take the antibiotics she’d been prescribed.

“Her spirit was broken,” Sloan said. “She was afraid that her son was … going to lose everything he’d worked so hard for. That he wasn’t going to ever be able to do a real album again.”

In February 2024, Mosey officially went independent, signing a global distribution partnership with Cinq Music. “As a manager, it is rare to have a young artist that is truly gifted in creating hit records and is equally an amazing human being,” Bruny said in the press release announcing the news. Since then, Lil Mosey has released an EP and a few singles but none have brought him close to the commercial success of “Blueberry Faygo.” This summer, he has 10 North American concert dates lined up at venues that can hold between 450 and 1,500 people; tickets start at $31.

In one of Mosey’s recent Instagram posts, he starts out standing in front of a Rolls-Royce on that palm-tree-lined street in Beverly Hills that all influencers flock to. The April photo shoot continues: He’s flipping the bird. He’s holding a huge bag from Louis Vuitton.

But scroll down just three posts, and the tone shifts. He’s on the ground, seated next to a pay phone. “miss u mom this one’s for u,” say the words below the picture. It’s from November 2024 — just weeks after his mother’s passing — an announcement for his new single, “Call.” He wrote the song for Thatcher, its lyrics lamenting how he’d “give everything” to hear her voice again. Between his rap verses, there’s an interlude where he samples voicemail messages he’s saved from her.

“Hey, it’s me, your mom,” she says gently, barely audible. “Just checking in, hope everything’s good. Stay safe, be strong, love you. You know I’m here for you, always. Reach out anytime. ”

Times librarian Cary Schneider contributed to this report.

Sale of genetic testing company raises concerns about privacy of 23andMe’s 15 million customers.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has bought the genetic testing company 23andMe, a company once valued at $6bn, for $256m through a bankruptcy auction.

Regeneron said in a statement on Monday that it aims to bolster its capabilities in genomics-driven drug discovery by using customer DNA profiles, collected via its popular direct-to-consumer saliva testing kits.

It added it would prioritise the ethical use of customers’ DNA data.

However, the transaction has put the spotlight back on data privacy issues, especially in light of 23andMe’s recent challenges. Founded in 2006, 23andMe has collected the genetic information of roughly 15 million people.

The genomics firm, once a trailblazer in ancestry DNA testing, has faced dwindling demand for its core services and reputational damage from a 2023 data breach that exposed sensitive genetic and personal information of millions of users.

The hack and subsequent bankruptcy filing have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers who warned that millions of customers’ genetic data could be sold to unscrupulous buyers.

After the company’s bankruptcy filing in March, several congressional committees and federal agencies, including the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and  the Federal Trade Commission, penned letters voicing concerns  that the company’s data could end up in the hands of malicious parties.

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability in the House of Representatives launched an investigation into the matter.

Acknowledging the heightened scrutiny, Regeneron said it will uphold 23andMe’s existing privacy policies and comply with all applicable data protection laws.

The drugmaker also committed to working transparently with a court-appointed independent overseer who will assess the implications of the deal for consumer privacy and is expected to deliver a report to the court by June 10.

The court is scheduled to consider approval of the transaction on June 17.

Investments in genomics “make good strategic sense” for Regeneron but might take a decade or more to see a return, Bernstein analyst William Pickering told the news agency Reuters.

“Given Regeneron’s track record, we also believe 23andMe customers are in good hands from a privacy perspective,” Pickering added.

As part of the agreement, Regeneron will acquire all units of 23andMe except the company’s on-demand telehealth service Lemonaid Health, which is being shuttered.

After the transaction, expected to be completed in the third quarter, 23andMe will operate as a wholly owned unit of Regeneron.

Despite the news of the purchase, Regeneron’s stock was down 0.6 percent from the market open on Wall Street as of 12pm in New York (16:00 GMT) although it had gone up 2.86 percent over the previous five days.

Fault Lines and Mother Jones magazine investigate how a private equity firm gutted a major United States hospital chain in pursuit of profit, leaving patients without critical care and families shattered.

The film follows Nabil Haque, whose wife died after childbirth at a Boston hospital that lacked essential equipment. It also tells the story of Lisa Malick, whose newborn daughter died after delays at a Florida facility that lacked a functioning neonatal intensive care unit. Together, their stories reveal the devastating consequences of turning healthcare into a business.

The investigation uncovers how Steward Health Care executives drained hospitals of resources, saddled them with crushing debt and triggered one of the largest hospital bankruptcies in US history – while walking away with millions.