Calvin Harris has alleged that his former financial advisor stole over $22.5million (£16.5million) from him to fund a real estate project.
The artist filed an arbitration demand at the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles last Friday (September 12), according to reports from People.
In the files obtained by the outlet, he claims that the financial advisor who worked with him between 2012 and 2025, Thomas St. John, worked with conspirators to “systematically” take advantage of him.
It claims that in the early 2020s, the advisor and his co-conspirators came up with the idea for a real estate development called “CMNTY Culture Campus”. This was set to be set “in the heart of Hollywood, California for musicians, recording engineers, entertainers, and creatives”, and was to include “recording studios, artists’ lounges, and office space” that spanned across 460,000 square feet.
In the filing, it claims that St. John started to seek investments from entertainers and others in early 2021, and reached out to Harris in 2023 when he became short on cash.
Harris, real name Adam Richard Wiles, accuses St. John of “not reveal[ing] his true intentions” or provide adequate information about the investment. It also alleges that the financial advisor created Claimant Lewis LLC for the Scottish DJ and producer to invest $22.5million (£16.5million) into the project.
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This investment was allegedly broken down into two: a loan from Lewis LLC to Hollywood LLC amounting to $10million (£7.3million), and $12.5million (£9.16million) through an equity investment in Hollywood LLC. The arbitration demand accuses St. John of not providing “context or information whatsoever” to Harris, and sending “materially misleading” DocuSign forms over to him.
People reports that after the investment was made, St. John caused Hollywood LLC to distribute $11.7million (£8.57million) to Dun & Dun LLC, the managing entity of Hollywood LLC that he controls.
In a statement from Harris’ lawyers, they said: “To this day, Claimants do not know where Claimants’ investment has gone or what it has been used for”. They compared the project to be “at best, a complete boondoggle, and, at worst, a complete fraud.”
“Mr. Wiles has not received a single penny in return for that investment, and, indeed, Respondents have not even started developing or building the project.”
The arbitration demand outlines that the purpose of the project shifted in 2024 due to “shifting market dynamics” and became centred on “residential housing” – however this was not discussed with Harris promptly, it claims.
In response to the filing, Sasha Frid, St. John’s attorney, said that the DJ “actively pursued this development opportunity,” and that he was one of several investors” in the project.
“Unhappy with the pace of the project, he chose to pursue private arbitration to assert his discontent,” Frid added. “It’s no secret that due to interest rates and other market factors real estate projects are taking longer to build. But the development is very much viable and expected to have a $900+ million valuation when completed. Mr. St. John denies any wrongdoing.”
In other news, Calvin Harris has been announced as the first headliner for Creamfields 2026.
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