NEED TO KNOW
- Calvin Harris filed an arbitration demand against his former financial advisor, Thomas St. John, and his associates
- Harris made a $10 million loan for a real estate development project and a $12.5 million equity investment
- Harris claims that St. John “did not reveal his true intentions” or provide him with any information regarding his investment
Calvin Harris is alleging that his former financial advisor stole $22.5 million from him to fund a Hollywood “boondoggle” real estate project.
The arbitration demand, filed at the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, on Friday, Sept. 12, and obtained by PEOPLE, alleges that Thomas St. John — who worked for Harris from approximately 2012 to April 2025 — and his co-conspirators “systematically” took advantage of Harris, whose real name is Adam Richard Wiles.
According to the arbitration demand, in the early 2020’s St. John, and his co-conspirators created a real estate development project coined “CMNTY Culture Campus” that was meant to be a 460,000 square foot development “in the heart of Hollywood, California for musicians, recording engineers, entertainers, and creatives, and was to include recording studios, artists’ lounges, and office space.”
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St. John began seeking investments from entertainers and other financiers in early 2021. In 2023, when he allegedly became short on cash for the project, he reached out to Harris.
The arbitration demand claims that St. John “did not reveal his true intentions” to Harris or provide him with any information regarding the investment.
With the benefit of being Harris’s financial advisor at the time, the arbitration demand alleges that St. John created Claimant Lewsi LLC for Harris to invest a total of at least $22.5 million into the project.
The investment would be broken down into two parts: $10 million that would come from a loan from Lewis LLC to Hollywood LLC (which would control CMNTY Culture Campus), and $12.5 million through an equity investment in Hollywood LLC.
The arbitration demand alleges that St. John “provided no context or information whatsoever” and instead just sent Harris DocuSign forms to sign that were “materially misleading.”
After the investment was made, the arbitration demand claims that St. John caused Hollywood LLC to distribute $11.7 million to Dun & Dun LLC (the managing entity of Hollywood LLC that St. John controls) only.
“To this day, Claimants do not know where Claimants’ investment has gone or what it has been used for,” Harris’ lawyers claim, referring to the investment, “at best, a complete boondoggle, and, at worst, a complete fraud.”
“Mr. Wiles has not received a single penny in return for that investment, and, indeed, Respondents have not even started developing or building the project,” the arbitration demand claims.
In 2024, the project’s purpose shifted to creating “residential housing” due to “shifting market dynamics,” a change the arbitration demand claims was not discussed with Harris promptly.
Sasha Frid, St. John’s attorney, said in a statement to Variety that Harris is one of “several investors” in the new real estate project that is set to include 750 apartments in two towers of 34 and 38 stories. The residential housing is also set to include 90 low-income units “as well as outdoor, creative, and retail spaces,” per Variety.
Frid told Variety that Harris “actively pursued this development opportunity.”
“Unhappy with the pace of the project, he chose to pursue private arbitration to assert his discontent. It’s no secret that due to interest rates and other market factors real estate projects are taking longer to build. But the development is very much viable and expected to have a $900+ million valuation when completed. Mr. St. John denies any wrongdoing,” Frid’s statement to the outlet said.
PEOPLE has reached out to Frid for comment.
Harris’ attorneys, meanwhile, claim that the $10 million loan was supposed to be paid back to Harris by Jan. 31, 2025, but that the principal and interest remain unpaid.
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When Harris asked for information about his funds, the respondents allegedly provided him with “scant (and sometimes contradictory) information,” the arbitration demand claims.
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