Romeo Santos takes legal action against his former accounting firm for financial negligence
Renowned Dominican artist Romeo Santos has initiated a legal process against his former accounting and business management firm, BDO USA. The bachata performer alleges that the company committed gross negligence that resulted in unpaid tax bills and million-dollar losses for his estate.
According to the lawsuit filed, the singer’s legal team, led by James Sammataro of the firm Pryor Cashman, maintains that for nearly seven years, the “King of Bachata” entrusted his finances to this firm under the premise that they were specialists in the entertainment sector. However, the results were contrary to expectations, leading to poor and constant mismanagement for years.
What BDO delivered, instead, was gross negligence, year after year.
James Sammataro, Romeo Santos’ lawyer
Lawsuit details and background
The professional relationship began in 2016 with the firm Morrison Brown Argiz & Farra LLP, which was subsequently acquired by BDO in 2021. According to the legal document, the errors committed by the firm affected fundamental functions of the artist’s financial management, including:
- Critical failures in the payment and filing of tax returns.
- Inadequate management of tax obligations in New York State, which triggered a costly audit due to inconsistent filings.
- Omission in claiming applicable foreign tax credits on international royalties.
The artist points out that, after discovering these irregularities, he tried to seek an amicable solution with the company, but it rejected any settlement proposal. This case is reminiscent of similar situations in the music industry, where high-profile figures have had to resort to the courts to protect their capital from management firms.
Romeo Santos, who achieved global stardom with the group Aventura and has consolidated a solo career full of chart-topping hits, is now seeking to recover the economic damages caused by what he describes as poor professional management that put his overall financial stability at risk.
