Paramount President Jeff Shell has fired back in his ugly feud with a Las Vegas gambler and FBI informant, contending that Robert “R.J.” Cipriani has fictionalized the two men’s dealings, then spread “false and salacious lies to extract a massive payday.”
Shell filed a lawsuit one week after the high-roller had sued Shell in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Cipriani’s suit had alleged fraud and breach of an oral contract tied to his claims that Shell failed to deliver on a verbal pledge to help him develop an English-language version of a Spanish music show that streams on Roku TV. Cipriani has been seeking $150 million in damages.
However, Shell’s lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, pushes back against Cipriani’s allegations and contends that Shell was the victim of extortion and defamation.
“R.J. Cipriani did not come to Court to enforce some purported oral agreement. He came to complete a shakedown,” according to Shell’s counter-claim lawsuit. “Cipriani’s playbook works like this: use a trusted mutual connection to cozy up to a high-profile target; leech to the fringes of the target’s world while manufacturing the illusion of closeness; falsely claim you have been helping the target from behind the scenes.”
Shell contends that he never agreed to hire Cipriani and that it wasn’t clear what, if any, services Cipriani provided.
Shell’s suit also alleges that Cipriani manipulated texts that Shell had sent him via the WhatsApp messaging platform to make it look like Shell had spilled corporate secrets — an allegation that Shell denies.
“Cipriani …. overplayed his hand,” Shell’s lawsuit alleged. “He placed a high-stakes bet that, if he concocted an utterly false tale that Shell had disclosed confidential details about Paramount’s business, Shell would pay Cipriani a ransom to keep him from going public with his heinous lies. But Shell called his bluff.”
The move comes as Shell faces scrutiny…