Harvey Weinstein Allegedly Misused Funds from His Company — Including 75K for Marchesa Dresses
While the alleged sexual misconduct of Harvey Weinstein is now well-known, new details have emerged over how the movie mogul also reportedly misused funds from his own company.
A new report from PEOPLE sister publication Fortune, alleges that for years Weinstein was protected by his billionaire board members at The Weinstein Company many of whom stuck by his side despite being deceived by the mogul who allegedly spent millions of dollars of TWC funds on his own personal projects.
One story from the in-depth report explains how, according to board members Tarak Ben Ammar and Lance Maerov, in 2014 Weinstein had used the company’s credit facility to advance himself funds and paid Marchesa, his wife Georgina Chapman’s fashion brand, $75,000 for dresses that he’d given to a business acquaintance in Qatar.
Ammar told Fortune, “We were shocked he was making gifts with company money.”
Weinstein has admitted to some of the inappropriate behavior and has denied other allegations. He has categorically denied taking part in nonconsensual sex. He has not made public statements regarding allegations that he mismanaged the company or used its funds inappropriately.
Weinstein declined Fortune’s request to respond to critics of his management. Holly Baird, a spokesperson for Harvey Weinstein, sent Fortune an email stating that, “We are not commenting [on issues involving the board] and Mr. Weinstein is not available for interviews.” Messages requesting a response from TWC, and others seeking comment from Harvey’s brother and co-founder Bob Weinstein, were not returned.
Weinstein was fired as co-chairman of the studio on Oct. 8 after the board cited a violation of the company’s code of ethics following the release of the New York Times report detailing extensive allegations of abuse and harassment. On Oct 17, Weinstein resigned from the company’s board but still reportedly owns 22% of the company’s stock.
According to documents in the Fortune story, in February 2015, Weinstein reportedly refunded $6.86 million and repaid the $75,000 for the dresses.
Maerov added that Weinstein, “wasn’t interested in running the studio honestly and responsibly. He was running it for his own self-aggrandizement.”
