TJ Martell Victimized By Former EVP/GM
• The TJ Martell Foundation, the music industry’s leading charitable organization is still reeling from this week’s revelation that its former EVP/GM Melissa Ann Goodwin allegedly embezzled nearly $4 million from the organization. According to the coverage in Billboard, the Martell Foundation has filed two civil suits in Tennessee state court after federal criminal charges were filed on Tuesday against Goodwin for alleged wire fraud and embezzlement.
The charging documents allege that Goodwin abused her position of control over the foundation’s financial operations from July 2018 to April 2020 to make a large number of fraudulent charges on a company credit card, then concealed her actions through bookmaking trickery, allegedly using a company credit card to secretly buy Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Grammy and Super Bowl tickets, rare alcohols and more. The tickets were then often sold by auction, ostensibly to raise funds for TJ Martell, but instead, the suits allege, Goodwin and an associate kept the money or the items.
TJ Martell’s first civil lawsuit was filed against Goodwin and Darran Brown, whose Executive Sports Group (ESG) and Go Charity auction companies were allegedly complicit in the fraud. (Brown is identified as “Individual One” in the federal suit.) After TJ Martell began working with ESG and Go Charity, the lawsuit claims that Brown “knew, or consciously avoided the knowledge of [Goodwin’s] wrongdoing.” In doing so, Goodwin was able to allegedly misappropriate more than $4.2 million of foundation funds, allowing Brown, Go Charity and ESG to profit off the resale of the purchased items to third parties or to use the items for themselves. The documents also state, “During the course of this scheme, items were often housed at Goodwin’s personal address in a garage which Brown referred to as ‘Go Charity South.'”
In 2020, the foundation discovered Goodwin had filed fake expense reports, falsified financial records and used a foundation credit card issued in her name, according to the federal filing. The discovery came after she had grown so delinquent in filing financial statements and expense reports that Martell’s then-CEO Laura Heatherly asked that the organization’s accountants copy her on all correspondence with Goodwin — a move, the suit alleges, Goodwin resisted.
Goodwin, Brown and the auction companies are all accused of fraud, conspiracy and conversion. Goodwin is also accused of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. If convicted, Goodwin faces up to 20 years in prison, a forfeiture of $3.7 million, and a fine of up to $250,000. She has up to 14 days to surrender. For more details about this disturbing story, we urge you to read Melinda Newman‘s excellent coverage in Billboard.
