Chandler Moore sues Maverick City Music CEO for forgery, withholding $800K in royalties

Maverick City Music co-founder Chandler Moore days before he announced his abrupt departure from the Grammy-winning worship collective, sued the group’s chief executive for allegedly stealing millions of dollars’ worth of royalties from him.

The civil fraud lawsuit, obtained by Billboard, was filed by Moore’s lawyers in Atlanta federal court last Wednesday (October 1). Five days later, on Monday (October 6), Moore announced on social media that he was leaving Maverick City Music and focusing on solo projects.

Target in the lawsuit

The lawsuit names several corporate entities, including Maverick City Music and the group’s label. TRIBL Records. But the primary target is Norman Gyamfi, who was Moore’s manager before buying an ownership stake in Maverick City Music and eventually becoming the collective’s CEO in 2023.

Allegations of breach of trust

“Moore reposed great trust and confidence in and accepted Gyamfi’s guidance in his business and financial decisions,” reads the complaint. “Gyamfi, however, abused his power and the trust that Moore bestowed upon him.”

Claim of secret self-dealing in 2021

The lawsuit claims that Gyamfi’s self-dealing began in 2021, when he brokered the sale of Maverick City Music’s masters to Sony distribution arm The Orchard without telling Moore or disclosing that he would receive a commission from the deal.

Alleged forgery and royalties diversion in 2022

Moore then says that in 2022, Gyamfi secretly directed Essential Music Publishing, Sony’s Christian music publishing division, to pay all Moore’s songwriting royalties directly to Maverick City Music. To make this happen, Gyamfi allegedly forged Moore’s signature on a co-publishing agreement that assigned half of all his composition rights to the group.

According to the lawsuit, Moore signed a final contract with Maverick City Music in 2024. Moore says he fulfilled his obligations by writing new music and completing a tour, but that Gyamfi and his associates withheld more than $800,000 in royalties due under the agreement.

Moore ultimately alleges that Gyamfi stole millions of dollars from him through these various forms of wrongdoing. The singer is bringing a slew of civil claims against Gyamfi, including breach of contract, forgery and conversion, and he’s seeking financial damages as well as a court order voiding all his contracts with Maverick City Music.

“Defendants’ greed, exploitation and misappropriation of Moore’s assets and intellectual property have deprived Plaintiffs of their contractually owed royalties, assets, monies and ownership interests,” reads the lawsuit.

Attorney commits to protecting Moore’s interests

One of Moore’s lawyers, Sam Lipshie of the law firm Bradley Arant, told Billboard on Tuesday (Oct. 7), “This law firm is privileged to represent Chandler Moore, an extraordinary artist and human being.”

“Like many talented creators and performers, Chandler has faced situations where his trust and talent were taken advantage of in various ways,” said Lipshie. “We are fully committed to helping Chandler recover what is rightfully his, resolve outstanding legal matters and assist him in moving forward freely to continue building the even-brighter impactful career that lies ahead for him.”

Maverick City Music denies allegations

Maverick City Music responded to Moore’s allegations in a lengthy Instagram statement on Wednesday (Oct. 8) from co-founder Jonathan Jay. The statement says the lawsuit’s claims claims are “wildly untrue” and “calculated attempts to strong-arm a way out of agreements Chandler made freely and later breached.”

“To be clear: the claims being made against me, against Norman and against our companies are categorically false,” wrote Jay. “Our business dealings with Chandler were forthright, generous and above reproach. We acted in good faith, gave more than what was required and consistently extended grace. Any allegations of misdeeds are simply not true, and we welcome a full and honest examination, because the truth will speak for itself.”