America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 737 From Millionaire to Debtor

In mid-April, Hollywood was once again rocked by news about Johnny Depp, and as in recent years, it was still a scandal.

TMZ first reported that, according to reliable sources from the IRS, Johnny Depp has been in arrears with taxes for seven consecutive years, and the IRS is pursuing the tax arrears and formulating corresponding penalties.

Subsequently, the IRS Los Angeles office held a press conference to announce that Johnny Depp owed taxes and that it would pursue him for a total of $9560 million in back taxes, late fees, and penalties!

According to external estimates, Depp's earnings from his film career over the years will not be less than $6.5 million.

Under normal circumstances, it should not be difficult to pay the outstanding taxes.

The best way to deal with the IRS is to actively pay back the taxes.

After all, Hollywood stars aren't a major force, nor do they have the capabilities or background of the CIA or FBI.

But Depp sadly discovered that he didn't have the money to pay the back taxes!

The hundreds of millions of dollars were all invested by the Mandelkin Investment Company, founded by the brothers Joel and Robert. Every single investment went through Depp's hands and had his authorization signature.

These investments kept changing hands, yielding meager returns, and many even resulted in total loss. However, the Mandel Brothers, acting as investment agents, received nearly $100 million in commissions based on the agency agreement signed between the two parties.

Depp's cash reserves had long since dried up, and his most recent expenses were covered by a $500 million loan from Mandelkin & Co.

As for oversight, the person Depp used to oversee Joel, the investment manager, was Joel's brother, Robert.

Depp is absolutely a super genius.

An interesting situation has arisen: the outside world, and even Depp himself, believe that he has a net worth of over $500 million, but in reality, it is just an empty shell.

Even more outrageous is that Depp entrusted Mandelkin Investments with managing his finances, but not only did he lose all his money, he also owed Mandelkin $500 million in loans and interest.

This situation is not uncommon in Hollywood, especially among Black NBA players.

But Depp was worse off than those people because every investment the Mandel Brothers made was legally authorized by Depp.

Depp was not about to let the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars go unpunished. He immediately sued Joel Mandel and Robert Mandel, accusing the Mandel brothers of financial fraud.

In a subsequent interview, Depp claimed, "Because of Joel and Robert's fraudulent activities, a large amount of his wealth has disappeared, and he is now forced to sell fixed assets to pay off his outstanding taxes."

The Mandel Brothers responded that every investment was approved and legally authorized by Depp, and that Depp's financial problems stemmed from his own extravagance.

The two revealed in the media that Depp spent tens of millions of dollars to buy an island in the Bahamas that was unsuitable for living and tourism development, and spent tens of millions of dollars to buy classic cars, the annual maintenance of which cost seven figures.

And Depp's friends spend eight figures on him every year.

Depp spends between $200,000 and $300,000 a month on wine.

These seem to make sense and have a basis in fact.

When interviewed, Depp dismissed the claim with a sneer: "They say I spend two or three hundred thousand dollars a month on wine? That's an insult!"

Alcoholics and drug addicts think differently from ordinary people: "Because I spend far more money on alcohol than that."

The two sides attacked each other, creating quite a commotion.

In order to gain a sufficient advantage in subsequent lawsuits or out-of-court negotiations, the Mandel brothers exposed a series of Depp's unreliable behaviors in addition to his financial situation.

For example, Johnny Depp stopped memorizing his lines a few years ago and relied entirely on his assistants as human teleprompters while wearing wireless headphones during filming.

Other issues such as being late, drinking, drug use, and absenteeism are commonplace.

When Depp was at the height of his popularity and had enormous commercial value, these were not problems at all.

As long as he can generate enough revenue, the production company won't say anything even if he hogs everyone on the crew.

The main problem right now isn't the production company or the media, but the tax authorities.

…………

In the penthouse of Columbia Tower.

Johnny Depp, finally sober and without alcohol, faced his lawyer and agent, Wickham, and angrily declared, "The Mandel Brothers caused these tax problems, and now I have to take the blame? That's not fair!"

Whigham said cautiously, "But the IRS tax notices and fines are issued to you."

The lawyer cautioned, "Your issue with Mandel Brothers is a private matter between you. The IRS won't get involved in this; they'll be targeting whoever is in a tax debtor or company."

Depp was furious: "I don't care, you son of a bitch!"

Wrigham specifically reminded them, "That's the IRS!"

Having grown up in the United States, Depp naturally understood the terror of the IRS. He slumped onto the sofa, looking up at the sky, and said, "I'm about to go bankrupt. How am I going to pay the taxes and fines to the IRS?!"

No one around spoke.

Amber Heard remained silent on the sofa. Her husband, Johnny Depp, was in dire straits, with cash flow dried up and only some fixed assets left. He might go bankrupt.

What did she value in Johnny Depp when she married him?

It's definitely not the so-called captain's charm, and it certainly can't be Depp's alcohol or drug addiction, or any other rotten stuff.

Of course, it's about being rich and famous, and everything that comes with it.

Amber Heard glanced at Depp; his eyes were sunken, his eye bags were heavy, he looked dejected, and he reeked of alcohol.

Thinking back to Elon Musk, whom I met recently, he's a hundred times better than Depp.

It was time for a divorce. Amber made up her mind and secretly planned to find a good enough time to divorce him, because she had given her youth and, in return, she had to take something away from Depp.

Depp is in a bad situation right now, and she doesn't intend to make things too difficult for him. She's not considering a nine-figure sum; an eight-figure sum is enough.

Amber glanced at Depp again, thinking that he was just bad in every way, full of flaws.

After persuading Depp for a while, his agent, Wickham, suggested, "Sell off fixed assets and pay the IRS taxes and fines first. The longer you delay, the worse it will be."

The lawyer aptly pointed out, "If IRS taxes and fines are overdue, late fees will accrue, which are compounded daily and can quickly increase in amount."

He specifically cited Depp as an example: "That's why Nicolas Cage still hasn't paid off his tax arrears."

To pay back his taxes and related expenses, Cage has taken on all sorts of terrible movies in recent years, but there seems to be no end in sight for him to pay off his debts.

Depp had heard about it before and said, "Okay, let's take stock of my fixed assets. I need to see the detailed list, and we should sell off anything that can be sold quickly."

He never imagined he would end up like this: "You guys should deal with it as soon as possible."

Whigham nodded slightly.

The lawyer, who also had to handle Depp's lawsuit against the Mandel Brothers, didn't have time to waste here and took his leave first.

Depp suddenly remembered something and asked his agent, "I remember there's still an $800 million unpaid salary from the 'Lone Ranger' crew. You should contact them right away and get them to pay me that money."

"I personally went to Annapurna Film Group to discuss this with them," Wrigham said.

Depp was tired and needed to drink and take drugs, so he just waved his hand dismissively.

Whigham left the Oriental Columbia building and headed straight for Annapurna Studios.

However, Megan Ellison rejected his suggestion that the Lone Ranger production team pay Depp's final $800 million salary in advance.

"According to the terms of our supplemental agreement, the studio has the right to postpone the final payment until after the film's North American release." The recent mess that has befallen Depp has left Megan Ellison exhausted, and she doesn't even know where to begin with crisis management. There are just too many messes involving Depp, and Annapurna's crisis management efforts have been futile.

She rallied her spirits and said, "You all need to keep Depp in check and prevent him from getting any more negative press!"

Wrigham defended Depp, saying, "This has little to do with Depp. He's a victim too, cheated by the investment manager and the accountant! Ms. Ellison, you're experienced enough to understand the inside story of these kinds of things."

Megan, of course, saw through it all, but ignoring that, she asked, "What about the attack on Martin Davis? Has Depp gone mad?"

Whigham said, "Those were three of Depp's friends who couldn't stand seeing Martin Davis bullying Depp, and they acted on their own initiative. It had nothing to do with Depp."

Megan shook her head slightly as she recalled the series of unpleasant incidents that occurred between the crew of "The Lone Ranger" and the crew of "The Martian" during the filming of "The Lone Ranger".

Depp and his gang of idiots launched an attack, which is fine, but at least they should have rammed Martin Davis's car. Instead, they didn't hit the car or the person, and they even got themselves killed.

According to her information, the idiot who drove the Hummer into the Aston Martin may be charged by the Los Angeles prosecutor's office with endangering public safety and attempted murder, in addition to driving under the influence of drugs. A few years in jail is inevitable.

Whigham argued with Megan Ellison again, but Megan Ellison was very assertive, and he ultimately got a "NO"!

Johnny Depp's only way to resolve his tax crisis as quickly as possible is to rapidly sell off his fixed assets.

…………

Beverly Hills, North Sunset Boulevard.

Bruce drove the Cadillac Escalade through the gates of Davis Estate.

Harris Carter, the second oldest of the four Carter siblings, peered curiously through the car window at Martin's mansion in Los Angeles.

The car arrived in front of the villa.

Harris saw his sister Lily, the familiar Martin, and a blonde woman with one arm around Martin's arm, just like Lily.

He had seen her in the newspaper and knew she was Elizabeth Olsen, the Cult of Cola and Martin's girlfriend in Hollywood.

After the car was parked, Lily opened the door from the outside.

Harris smiled at his younger sister, but before the smile could fully bloom, Lily greeted him warmly in an Atlanta accent: "Idiot, get out of the car."

"Uh..." Harris stopped laughing, jumped out of the car, looked at Martin who was coming towards him, and asked, "Boss, what do you want with me?"

(End of this chapter)