Ralph Carr denies he owes money to Elvis Presley’s estate
Celebrity agent Ralph Carr has denied he owes any money to Elvis Presley’s estate, which claims it is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars by the celebrity agent from a 2017 arena tour of Australia.
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EXCLUSIVE: Celebrity agent Ralph Carr has denied he owes any money to Elvis Presley’s estate, as a web of legal battles hit the music industry veteran.
The Herald Sun has seen an email from lawyers for the Graceland estate claiming Mr Carr owed hundreds of thousands of dollars it alleges it was underpaid for a 2017 Elvis video tour of Australia.
The claim was linked to the collapse of his company RCM Touring, which was put into liquidation over a $120,000 debt that Mr Carr has disputed.
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Mr Carr said he did not owe anyone any money and that he had a good relationship with Graceland.
“I have no idea about this. This is the first I have heard of it,” he told the Herald Sun.
He also denies that he owed money to singer Mark Vincent, who is fighting with him in the County Court.
“Mark Vincent is completely paid. There is no underpayments,” Mr Carr said.
The Graceland email is the latest fight for Mr Carr in a difficult year, during which he lost star client Kate Ceberano.
But he filled some of the void with disgraced actor Charlie Sheen’s speaking tour.
It comes as Mr Carr jetted back to Melbourne from Los Angeles where he celebrated his 59th birthday.
Mr Carr also caught up with star client, Richmond Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin while in America, catching an NFL game.
An email from Alexis Mueller, a lawyer for NECA — the company that owns a majority share of Elvis’ Graceland estate — alleged that Mr Carr had not paid the company in full for the tour, which sold more than 50,000 tickets.
“It has come to our attention that Ralph Carr and RCM Touring apparently underpaid Graceland Holdings LLC by several hundred thousand dollars,” the email states.
“Let this letter serve as notice that we request a litigation hold of all such evidence, so that we can use this evidence in legal proceedings against Mr. Carr and RCM.”
The claim related to Mr Carr’s company RCM Touring, which the Federal Court forced into liquidation in June.
Andrew Spring, of insolvency specialist Jirsch Sutherland, was appointed as the liquidator for RCM Touring.
He said Elvis’ estate would need to provide evidence of “under reporting of the success of the tours, particularly involving Elvis” to become a creditor.
“All parties need to provide evidence,” Mr Spring said.
Mr Spring said Mr Carr had not yet provided the books from RCM Touring to the liquidators.
But Mr Carr denied he had not co-operated with liquidators: “I have sent my accountant everything that the liquidator required months ago, your info is wrong here.”
Bank records obtained by Mr Spring have exposed withdrawals of $880,000 from a Commonwealth Bank account linked to RCM Touring.
Mr Spring said if RCM Touring was trading while insolvent, he would be able to personally pursue Mr Carr.
He said he would continue to chase any unpaid money if the company did not have any cash.
“We will explore other avenues first … but it’s not a get-out-of-jail free card,” he said.
“The Corporations Act does not distinguish between small companies and big companies.”
Mr Spring said that APRA, which represents songwriters, has contacted him to be a creditor for unpaid royalties owed by RCM Touring.
APRA confirmed it claimed it was owed almost $100,000 from RCM Touring.
The RCM fight has been running at the same time as a dispute between Mr Carr’s company Churchers and his former client, tenor Mark Vincent, who walked away from his contract in August.
The deal entitled Mr Carr to 20 per cent of his earnings over the five-year agreement.
Mr Carr took Mr Vincent to the County Court to demand a percentage of his earnings for another four years after he broke off the deal.
But Mr Vincent filed a counter claim, accusing Mr Carr of short changing him of $17,600, by telling him he was being paid less than he actually received.
Mr Carr told Mr Vincent he was being paid $5500 plus GST a show for a regional NSW tour in 2017, when it was allegedly $6500.
“(Mr Carr’s company Churchers) did not properly and truthfully account to (Mr Vincent) for all money invoiced and received,” the counterclaim stated.
Mr Vincent also argued in court documents that Mr Carr had not provided “any services as a manager” between May this year and the termination of the deal in August.
Richard Mitry, Lawyer for Mr Vincent on Friday confirmed some of that money was paid back, but the case was ongoing.
But Mr Carr did not show the strains of his legal fights when on holiday in America last week.
Photographs from his Instagram page showed him enjoying an NFL game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The caption of the photograph thanks “Duz”, referring to his high-profile client Dustin Martin, who was also travelling in America at the time.
Mr Carr has been a veteran of the music industry in Melbourne for more than 40 years.
He has previously had a failed court battle with former client, magician Cosentino, when he was demanding payments from the star after he walked away from a deal.
He managed Tina Arena and even married the star before they split, with the singer last year (2017) saying her experience of her first marriage with Mr Carr was “disgraceful” and that “financially, I went back to zero after 25 years of hard work.”
Mr Carr still lists Ms Arena, Cosentino and Kate Ceberano as some of his successes on his company website although he is no longer working with them.
MEET RALPH CARR’S NEW FRIEND
Meet Ralph Carr’s new friend.
Leggy brunette Karla Duckworth has been overseas in Los Angeles, staying at the Dream Hollywood Hotel.
Celebrity agent Carr has also been in the US, where he celebrated his 59th birthday with his famed client Dustin Martin.
Duckworth, who owns lingerie label Candy Shop, and Carr were photographed arriving together at Melbourne Airport on Tuesday.
Carr, who recently separated from wife Emma, denied the two were dating, saying “Karla is a friend”.
Originally published as Ralph Carr denies he owes money to Elvis Presley’s estate
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