High-profile attorney Martin Singer has found himself on the opposite side of a lawsuit.
And it's quite the sordid situation.
Singer — whose clients include Charlie Sheen — has himself been named in a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday by reality TV star Mike "Boogie" Malin (left).
In the complaint, Malin — a veteran of both "Big Brother" and "Famous Food" — accuses Singer and his client, Geisha House restaurant promoter Shereene Arazm, of extortion, violation of civil rights and infliction of emotional distress.
Malin accuses Singer and Arazm — a former partner of Malin's — of hiring someone to hack into Malin's emails and illegally tap his phone.
Malin says that the pair sent him a letter July 25, threatening a lawsuit, which would expose Malin "to public embarrassment and humiliation" in "an effort to obtain property by a wrongful use of force or fear."
Malin's complaint, which seeks unspecified damages plus attorney's fees and court costs, includes a copy of the letter, in which Singer accuses Malin and his business partner, Lonnie Moore, of harming Arazm through "embezzlement, conversion and breach of fiduciary duty."
"You have misappropriated more than a million dollars from my client," the letter adds.
In that July letter, Singer also included a copy of a lawsuit — which was unfiled at the time –that included all sorts of references to Malin's alleged Craigslist-based sexual dalliances.
Singer filed that suit Tuesday … and boy, is it a doozy.
The suit accuses Malin of using embezzled Geisha House resources to set up "multiple sexual encounters with various older men, during which Malin would live out fetish role play fantasies … playing out Malin's versions of a father/son and uncle/nephew relationship."
Is the water in the shower hot yet?
Malin's nicknames for his older partners included "Uncle Jerry" and "Dad," according to the suit.
Arazm's suit, which characterizes Malin as a "washed-up reality star" and Moore as an "accused rapist," goes on to list numerous ways in which the pair has allegedly diverted funds and resources from Geisha House for their own benefit — including striking exclusivity deals with different vendors, and diverting the subsequent rebates into Malin's privately held company, 2Hype.
The suit seeks damages in excess of $1,000,000.
Singer tells TheWrap that Malin's suit is "a preemptive strike" and "a desperate attempt" to divert attention from the claims against him and Moore, and he fully expects that the suit will be thrown out.
As for Malin's allegations of e-mail hacking and phone tapping, Singer says, "That's ridiculous; they have no facts on their claim."
Malin's attorney did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this sordid report.
