Saturday, August 31, 2013

Cohen stays calm as $5m pension disappears

There is concern that capital outflows from emerging markets will accelerate as the US Federal Reserve reduced monetary stimulus. (AP)
This was due to concern that capital outflows from emerging markets will accelerate as the US Federal Reserve reduces monetary stimulus.

He has been called the "poet laureate of pessimism". His songs, delivered in a slow, haunting monotone, tell of death, betrayal and depression. Now, earthly matters have caught up with Leonard Cohen: his manager, he alleges, has spent all his money.

He has been called the “poet laureate of pessimism”. His songs, delivered in a slow, haunting monotone, tell of death, betrayal and depression. Now, earthly matters have caught up with Leonard Cohen: his manager, he alleges, has spent all his money.

A lawsuit filed by the 71-year-old singer and poet in a Los Angeles court describes a tangled web of deceit, allegation and legal chicanery. Cohen claims Kelley Lynch, his manager for 16 years, stole more than $5-million from a fund set up for his retirement. There is only $150 000 left in the fund and Cohen has mortgaged his house to pay his legal costs and is selling his assets. He cannot touch the money in the fund because of the legal dispute.

“I was devastated,” Cohen told the Canadian magazine Macleans. “You know, God gave me a strong inner core, so I wasn’t shattered. But I was deeply concerned.”
The theft allegedly started when Cohen, a Zen Buddhist, was on a five-year retreat in southern California.

“Through greed, self-dealing, concealment, knowing misrepresentation and reckless disregard for professional fiduciary duties,” Cohen’s suit states, his manager and his financial advisers failed to inform him of the state of his finances. Lynch, a Tibetan Buddhist and one-time lover of Cohen’s, denies the allegations.

One adviser, Neal Greenberg, has sued Cohen, alleging the singer was made aware of his financial plight and that in an attempt to recoup the monies, Cohen and his lawyers resorted to conspiracy, extortion and defamation. Cohen is also suing Greenberg, whose suit paints an unlikely picture of the renowned ascetic, describing how Cohen engaged in “consistent and prolific spending” to support “his extravagant ‘celebrity’ lifestyle”.

Greenberg quotes Cohen’s manager as saying the singer insisted she discuss business matters while he soaked in a bubble bath; his suit also alleges that Cohen was involved in calling a Swat team to the manager’s home, resulting in her being handcuffed and taken to a psychiatric ward in her bathing suit.
Cohen told Macleans: “What can I do? I had to go to work. I have no money left. I’m not saying it’s bad; I have enough of an understanding of the way the world works to understand that these things happen.”

Cohen, a Canadian, is best-known for late-70s songs such as Suzanne and Bird on a Wire. His songs have been covered by hundreds of artists and have appeared on film soundtracks. Following the release of his 1992 album, The Future, he retreated to a Zen Buddhist centre and was ordained as a Buddhist monk.

The alleged theft came to light a year ago, when a friend of the family alerted Cohen’s daughter to his perilous financial situation. The alleged theft centres on two transactions engineered by Lynch and approved by Cohen. The first, in 1997, was the $5m sale of Cohen’s publishing company, Stranger Music, to Sony.

The second, in 2001, concerned the sale of Cohen’s future royalties for $8m, also to Sony. Lynch set up a company to minimise taxes on the transaction, giving herself 99,5% ownership of the company, and Cohen the remaining 0,5%. Cohen says he was unaware of the agreement. “Since my own work requires a fair degree of solitary attention, I was grateful to Ms Lynch for looking after the business details,” he told the New York Times. “In this spirit she acquired considerable command over my finances.”

That command apparently extended to a link being set up allowing Lynch’s American Express credit card to be paid directly from Cohen’s bank account. When Cohen learned of the allegations and visited his bank, he was surprised to find that he had paid a $75 000 credit card bill for his manager. The same day, he says, Lynch tried to withdraw $40 000 in cash from another of his accounts. Cohen alleges that in total $8,4-million has disappeared from his holdings. Cohen fired Lynch in October last year. She refuses to talk about the case.

The lawsuits and the absence of funds have prompted Cohen to start working again. He plans to tour for the first time in 12 years, he has a new book of poetry due next year, he hopes to record an album this autumn, and a new album recorded with his wife is due for release. While admitting that the financial loss could “put a dent in your mood”, Cohen says he is happy again. “This has propelled us into incessant work,” he told Macleans. - Guardian Unlimited Â

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