Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell was sued for $150 million on Monday after Las Vegas gambler R.J. Cipriani followed through on a threat to take legal action against the executive.
The 67-page lawsuit alleges that Shell owes Cipriani for crisis communication services after he would tip the executive off to news articles and offer advice. Cipriani claims that there was a verbal agreement that Shell would help produce a TV series called “Star Serenade” in exchange for the services, but that he ultimately failed to do so.
It also claims that Shell would share non-public information with Cipriani about Paramount’s plans, including information about its $7.7 billion UFC media rights deal and an alleged belief that the company is overpaying in its $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery.
“This case arises from the oldest form of fraud: a powerful man took everything a less powerful man had to offer, promised to repay him, lied to him when he asked about it and then refused to compensate him at all,” the complaint states.
Shell’s prior media executive career came to a sharp halt in 2023 when he was fired as NBCUniversal’s CEO over allegations of inappropriate conduct involving a CNBC correspondent.
He would go on to serve at the private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, which helped David Ellison’s Skydance Media in its successful bid to acquire Paramount Global in 2025. He would later be tapped by Ellison to serve as the company’s president.
Cipriani’s formal lawsuit comes after his claims are already being investigated by an outside law firm while the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission is reviewing a related whistleblower complaint.
In a statement, Shell’s attorney Patricia Glaser previously said she was presented with a draft complaint that was “riddled with clear errors of fact and law.” At the time, she vowed that “we will strongly respond” if Cipriani moved forward with his lawsuit.
Representatives for Paramount and Shell did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on Monday.
