Up-and-coming singer Malu Trevejo's taking Mel B's ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte, to court over claims of fraud and theft.
According to TMZ, Trevejo, who was previously linked to Travis Scott's Cactus Jack, accused Belafonte of duping her into signing a bogus management deal. She said that Belafonte finessed her into a binding deal where he'd serve as her only manager.
Trevejo claimed that Belafonte discovered her in 2020 before inviting her to a one-on-one business meeting. However, she claims that he misrepresented himself when he said he was a licensed talent agent. Additionally, she suggested that he took advantage of the fact that she wasn't familiar with the industry. Trevejo said that she inked a one-sided deal that mainly worked for in Belafonte's favor.
Unfortunately, Malu Trevejo's issues with Belafonte doesn't entirely center around the contract. Instead, she accused him of misappropriation of funds through predatory financial practices. In the suit, she said Belafonte rented a home in Beverly Hills with her funds in 2021. Despite claiming that the lease only lasted a few months, Belafonte allegedly used the home for over a year. Basically, he lived in the luxe pad on Trevejo's dime.
Then, there's a loan that she took out through Belafonte's friend. She said that it amounted to $400K but he upped the interest rate, which amounts to an additional $150K.
Trevejo's suing Belafonte on grounds of fraud, conversation, theft, misappropriation, conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, and more.
Belafonte's attorney said Trevejo verbally abused his client like she allegedly did her former staffers accusing her of abuse. Furthermore, he called the allegations false.
"Mr. Belafonte contends that he is in possession of evidence proving Malu Trevejo abused him and others, including repeated use of the 'N-word' towards him, a black male, as well as screaming at people that worked for her while using abusive language and demanding they perform demeaning tasks," Eduardo Martorell, Belafonte's lawyer, said.
