Fast-rising singer, Skales, and his manager, Osagie Osarenkhoe, are currently swimming in the murky waters of fraud allegation.
On Tuesday, we reported that Osagie was arrested by the police on the orders of her client’s label, Baseline Records.
An official release from the music outfit disclosed that Osagie stole a total of N13,374,000 from them.
The amount was said to have been from shows Skales performed at without the knowledge of the label, which spent huge fortune on him when he was signed after he left EME Records.
Aproko247 learnt that after Skales was signed by Baseline, he was given a fully furnished luxury apartment in Lekki, Lagos in a gated estate. He also got a brand new customized SUV and millions of Naira as sign on fee.
He was also reportedly given the free hand to select and run his brand, supported by a multimillion naira corporate expense account.
In the official statement released by Baseline, it was disclosed that Osagie “fraudulently” diverted N13.4m “belonging to the record label for personal purposes.”
Part of the release is reproduced below:
- THEFT OF COMPANY MONIES EARNED BY SKALES FROM MARCH-APRIL 2016
The Company noticed that although Skales was listed as performing at various concerts, shows, tours and other events, none of the monies received from these events was remitted to the Company. In this regard, the Company invited Skales and his manager Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe to various meetings seeking an account and reconciliation. At these meetings, both Skales and his manager Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe insisted that the events in question were not paid events and as such there were no monies to remit.
These dubious activities continued for a period of 12 (twelve) months wherein the Company was fraudulently deprived of its legitimate earnings by the said Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe as payments made for performances were paid directly into her account in violation of the procedure set up for payments at the beginning of the Contract.
The Company in March of 2016 decided to catalogue some of the paid shows, performances, concerts and tours wherein Skales performed and the monies were fraudulently converted for personal use by the said Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe.
Please find below a list of said performances which only covers the period from 3rd March 2016 to 1st May 2016.
By the Company’s estimation, from the aforementioned events, Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe has fraudulently converted the sum of N7,474,000 from this brief period without accounting to the Company or making payments first into the Company’s accounts as stipulated in the Contract. This is without factoring all the other performances, tours and shows where no remittance was made from the period January 2015 to April 2016.
In order to properly document this fraud and catch Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe in the act of theft, the Company created an email address, and sent an email to Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe requesting the performance of Skales at an event in California on the 2nd June, 2016. In the email communication, Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe requested the sum of $5,000 (five thousand US dollars) for the performance as well as one business class ticket, one economy class ticket and two hotel rooms in a 4-star hotel.
(please find enclosed herewith the email communication between Skales and Femi George with respect to the said performance) On 18th May, 2016 the first tranche of $2,500 (two thousand five hundred US dollars) representing 50% (fifty percent) of the performance fee demanded by Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe was wired into the following account:
Bank of America.
Name: Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe.
Account Number: 483063945907
(please find enclosed herewith proof of transfer of the $2,500)
Subsequent to the transfer of the money, our Samuel Gbemileke Samuel telephoned the said Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe requesting for an account of all monies received by Skales for performances and tours for the month of May. Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe insisted that there had been no paid performances for Skales during the period in question.
- THEFT OF THE SUM OF N5,000,000 (Five million naira) BEING PAYMENT FOR MTN PULSE
The Company in 2015 entered into an agreement with Upfront and Personal, for the engagement of Skales to appear in TV commercials, billboards websites and other social media on behalf of MTN Pulse. As per the terms of the agreement, Upfront and Personal was to pay to the Company the sum of N5,000,000 (five million naira) in two tranches of N2,500,000 (two million five hundred thousand naira each). The said Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe representing that she was authorized by the Company obtained the sum of N5,000,000 (five million naira) due to the Company without being so authorized. Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe has failed after repeated demands to repay the said N5,000,000 (five million naira) fraudulently obtained.
Given the above circumstances, the Company believes that a fraud has been committed against it by Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe.
