Feud between Vegas gambler and Paramount exec sparks $150-million fraud lawsuit

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The high-stakes feud between Paramount Skydance President Jeff Shell and Las Vegas gambler and self-professed “fixer” Robert James “R.J.” Cipriani spilled into court on Monday.Cipriani filed a lawsuit against Shell on claims of fraud and eight other counts, alleging that he reneged on an oral agreement to develop an English-language version of a Spanish music show that streams on Roku TV.He is seeking $150 million in damages.

Hollywood Inc.Surreptitious dealings with a high-stakes Vegas gambler could imperil Jeff Shell’s role in Paramount Skydance as it looks to merge with Warner Bros.

Discovery.In the 67-page lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Cipriani claims that in exchange for providing “sophisticated, high-value crisis communications services, entirely without compensation” over 18 months, Shell had agreed to develop the show “Serenata De Las Estrellas” (Star Serenade), but failed to do so.Cipriani and his wife were to be named as co-executive producers.“This case arises from the oldest form of fraud: a powerful man took everything a less powerful man had to offer, promised to repay him, lied to him when he asked about it, and then refused to compensate him at all,” states the complaint.Representatives of Shell did not immediately comment.Cipriani — who has producer credits on a 2020 documentary about Vegas, “Money Machine: Behind the Lies,” and the 2015 movie “Wild Card” — intended to make “Serenata” as a “lasting legacy for his mother,” Regina, saying the effort “has been the driving force and the most important thing consuming [Cipriani’s] entire life of almost sixty-five years,” according to the suit.The show was inspired by a song that the Philadelphia-born Cipriani used to sing to his late mother when he was growing up.The litigation is the latest twist in a simmering behind-the-scenes scandal that has...