The woman who sided with Johnny Depp in the actor’s long-running legal battle against his former managers lied on her résumé and exaggerated the extent that she knows the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor, court papers unsealed on Friday revealed.
Janine Rayburn, a former employee at The Management Group (TMG) turned possible whistleblower, has said the agency kept Depp in the dark about his alleged financial problems — and that the actor would have avoided getting into such financial straits if it had leveled with him.
But under questioning, Rayburn admits she doesn’t know Depp and only met him for two seconds at a holiday party, and therefore doesn’t know if he would have slowed his spending if TMG had alerted him.
Depp, who stars in Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” owns 14 homes around the globe and allegedly spends $30,000 a month on wine as part of a posh lifestyle that became unsupportable.
TMG loaned Depp money to cover his costs, it said.
“You don’t know anything about him as a person, do you?” TMG’s lawyers asked her, according to the transcript of the deposition unsealed.
“I do not,” she replied.
“You don’t know whether or not he has a compulsion — compulsive spending habit, do you?”
“I do not,” she said.
After Depp sued TMG for $25 million, claiming the agency ripped him off, his ex-managers returned fire, denying the allegations and claiming Depp needs to see a shrink for a “compulsive spending” habit.
The woman, who worked at TMG for two years, provided some support to back up Depp’s contention that TMG cheated him. For example, she was asked to notarize a document that had Depp’s signature on it, without the actor being present.
“I said I didn’t feel comfortable doing it,” she said in the deposition. TMG lawyers claim there is no evidence to support her claim.
Depp’s lawyers want to amend their $25 million lawsuit to include Rayburn’s evidence. TMG is fighting the move, claiming she violated her nondisclosure agreement in talking to Depp’s legal eagles.
TMG also fought to keep the deposition under seal, saying Rayburn’s alleged lies could hurt its reputation.
Rayburn’s admission that she exaggerated her Depp relationship and lied on her résumé could undercut her credibility.
Adam Waldman, Depp’s lawyer who conducted the deposition, hit back on Friday, telling The Post that Rayburn managed Depp’s day-to-day affairs as an account manager.
“Having failed to conceal from the public whistleblower testimony that reveals some of the egregious misconduct [Joel] Mandel [a TMG partner, as is his brother Rob] asked her to commit on Mr. Depp’s account, the Mandels now predictably focus their efforts on smearing their former employee, just as they have attempted to smear Mr Depp.”
Depp’s lawyer continued: “The Mandels’ ‘everyone is lying’ defense in this fraud case is crumbling under the mounting body of evidence coming from multiple directions — whistleblowers, forensic accountants, lawyers and tax experts.”
The California celebrity management firm said in an e-mailed statement “Rayburn only worked at TMG for a brief time and was fired seven years ago. Rayburn fully admitted that she has no idea what conversations took place between Depp and TMG regarding Depp’s financial situation. We welcome the opportunity to further question Ms. Rayburn in court, exposing her many lies.”
In court documents filed on May 5, TMG lawyers suggest Rayburn lied “at least 12 times.”
In the deposition, Rayburn admitted that she doesn’t have a business degree from California State University, Northridge, something she fudged on her resume. She also admitted to a personal bankruptcy after her husband lost his job.
In unsealing the documents, the court judgment read: “It is not appropriate for the Court to seal any allegation that a party argues is false or misleading.”