Havoc is wreaking at Jill Ishkanian's celebrity empire. The former Us Weekly editor – who's currently suing her old bosses in an unrelated matter – is now battling just-fired staffers who are accused of looting the company of cash, cameras, and cars.
Ishkanian operates the celebrity-focused website CelebrityBabylon.com as well as paparazzi agency Sunset Photo & News, which she co-founded with Kitson store owner Fraser Ross. But now one of her other business partners, Stephen Lenehan, along with former staffer Kelly Stagg, stand accused of stealing more than $90,000 in camera equipment, $83,000 in unauthorized credit line cheques, holding on to the keys of three company vehicles, and a grand total of $170,000 in allegedly stolen equipment.
Stagg (pictured here with Lenehan), it's alleged, began directing clients to submit payment cheques to addresses and bank accounts not belonging to Sunset Photo, then depositing them into her or Lenehan's accounts.
(It should be noted that these two are, in fact, married; Lenehan is a gay Brit who wanted to stay in the country. You do the math.)
Why the sudden break with Jill's operations? Because Lenehan is said to be starting his own competing paparazzi agency, and is said to have fed her lies about being near-homelessness — except he's said to live in a 3,000 square foot home in the Hollywood Hills. One source claims Lenehan and Ishkanian agreed on Dec. 17 to downsize the business to increase the take-home cash flow, but "when it came to actually doing it, he began stealing cameras and other equipment from the office."
A separate source claims Ishkanian notified four CelebrityBabylon.com staffers they were being let go on Dec. 21; on Dec. 26, she notified Sunset photographers, at least one by text message, they were being let go. (The website appears to have last been updated on Dec. 19 with this Jessica Alba item.)
As it stands now, Lenehan and Stagg are said to have control over the company's bank accounts, though one source counters this claim. That same source, meanwhile, says it is Ishkanian who has "illegally secured control of bank accounts and all activity of what remains of Sunset Photo & News." In the meantime, there appears to be a restraining order underway from Ishkanian to keep Lenehan and Stagg at a distance.
And in further bad news, we hear one former staffer is working on a tell-all book about working with Ishkanian.
Editorial Director
The Grifters!
Carnie Wilson should play her when the book gets turned into a movie, and Tim Burton should play him!!
Couldn't happen to nicer people.
Yeah, In fact, I'm surprise it hasn't happened sooner and I won't be surprised it doesn't happen more often as these stupid celebrity stuff explodes and implodes.
good article, but too bad how havoc can not wreak itself; havoc is wreaked by something. transitive verb, yo.
These two have been caught stealing from their former employers as well, big money
Update: On April 28, 2008, Judge Gerald Rosenberg in LA Superior Court granted Jill Ishkanian a 3-year restraining order against Stephen Lenehan after a hearing that included photographs and video of Lenehan threatening Ishkanian after getting caught stealing/embezzling from the company coffers.
On June 17, 2008, the same Judge granted a 3-year restraining order against Kelly Stagg-Lenehan, keeping Stephen's [cough] "wife" from coming with in 100 yards of Ishkanian. Stagg-Lenehan also committed perjury, lying under oath, the transcript of which was forwarded to one state and Federal agency.
On July 10, 2008, Stephen Lenehan conducted a wire transfer from the Sunset Bank Account via his personal Ford Motor Credit to pay for TWO cars in his name that had been re-possessed, one on June 25, and one on June 30.
Bank of America denied the wire transfer and advised Jill Ishkanian to file criminal charges against Lenehan.
On July 10, she was given a case number for detectives to investigate. Stay tuned