Grammy-winning DJ and producer Calvin Harris has leveled serious accusations against his former financial advisor Thomas St. John, alleging the misappropriation of $22.5 million intended for investment purposes. According to court documents filed in the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County on September 12, 2025, Harris claims St. John diverted these funds to a struggling real estate venture called CMNTY Culture Campus, a 460,000 square foot development at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
The financial relationship between Harris and St. John spanned 13 years until their professional separation in April 2025. During this time, Harris, whose net worth is estimated at $300 million, relied heavily on St. John to safeguard his earnings and investments.
For over a decade, the $300 million DJ entrusted St. John with his fortune before their professional ties severed in 2025.
Their relationship reportedly deteriorated when St. John began developing the Hollywood real estate project around 2020-2021, while simultaneously seeking capital from Harris. By 2023, the CMNTY Culture Campus project, which promised recording studios, office spaces, and artist lounges, had allegedly encountered significant financial difficulties.
Harris claims St. John requested emergency funding without full disclosure of the project’s troubles, resulting in a $10 million loan and a $12.5 million equity investment from the music producer. Most troubling, Harris alleges, was an $11.7 million distribution from the project directed to an entity controlled by St. John.
“The project was at best a financial failure and at worst a fraud,” Harris’s attorneys stated in legal filings, which outline claims of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and misappropriation of funds. The documents further assert that St. John convinced Harris to funnel millions into a scheme that offered no real benefit to the artist.
St. John has publicly denied all allegations through his legal counsel, contesting the accusations of financial misconduct. The situation underscores the importance of artists establishing diverse income streams rather than relying solely on financial advisors to manage their wealth. The developers have since announced plans to transform the project into a residential development featuring 750 apartments in two high-rise towers due to shifting market dynamics. The court placed a temporary injunction to freeze certain assets while the case proceeds through arbitration. As arbitration proceedings continue, the case highlights the vulnerability of high-net-worth individuals to potential financial exploitation, even after establishing long-term professional relationships with trusted advisors.
The $22.5 million represents a significant sum that Harris’s legal team emphasizes was intended as a secured investment for his family’s future. As a successful music creator, Harris typically earns substantial royalties through performance rights organizations that collect and distribute payments for public performances of his copyrighted works.
