A former guitarist for the band Gogol Bordello is suing frontman Eugene Hütz, alleging that the vocalist swindled money from the rest of the band through trickery, and used unfair methods to fire him from the band. Oren Kaplan is suing on behalf of both himself and the rest of the group.
At one point, both Kaplan and Hütz shared accounting duties for the "gypsy punk" group, however the latter party pushed the guitarist out of the job during 2009. Kaplan alleges that Hütz used the opportunity to give himself a raise ($130,000 a year) while Kaplan received just $57,000 for his role. On a more criminal level, the former member alleges that Hütz used money from the company coffers to open separate private businesses that only he had an operating stake in. No examples of these businesses has been given.
The most sleazy of the alleged behavior strikes a more personal note with Kaplan (although it's still very much tied into finances). During 2012, right before the guitarist was kicked out of the band, Hütz seemed to show some sympathetic qualities, suggesting that Kaplan take some time off from the band to come to grips with the recent death of his mother. That sounds nice...but then Gogol Bordello happened to enter into a contract with Coca-Cola that year, using the band's "Let's Get Crazy" in a commercial for the soda. Kaplan's coincidental absence meant that he didn't get the synchronization payouts that Hütz did.
Raising eyebrows however is Kaplan's suggestion that Hütz "tricked" the other members of the band into consenting to his firing. That sort of accusation makes things seem a little more petty.
Regardless, Kaplan is looking out for both himself and his fellow bandmates. He's looking to acquire $950,000 in damages, as well as an additional $950,000 to be split among the other members of the group.
