Former Black Eyed Peas business manager files for bankruptcy

A music industry business manager who has acknowledged failing to file income-tax returns for the Black Eyed Peas and other clients has filed for bankruptcy.

In a petition Sunday seeking Chapter 7 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles, a lawyer for Sean Larkin estimated his debts at between $500,000 and $1 million.

The Peas stopped working with Larkin, 41, after learning he had not filed state and federal returns for years. He is being sued by the group’s guitarist and another client, a television executive, for breach of contract. The lawsuits accuse Larkin of hiding letters from the IRS and state tax authorities demanding payment of back taxes.

In a deposition this year in the executive’s case, Larkin admitted that he hadn’t filed the returns and testified that he was “overwhelmed by work flow” after the Peas hit it big.

Larkin’s 5% cut of the Peas' income -- a stream of revenue from touring, merchandise, music sales and endorsement deals -- should have made him a multimillionaire, but court filings and the bankruptcy papers indicate the business manager is broke.

In the bankruptcy filing, Larkin’s lawyer estimated his assets at less than $500,000 and wrote that he owed money on his Sherman Oaks condominium and on a Ford minivan. He also owes more than $1 million in taxes, public records show.

Larkin’s lawyer did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

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Photo: Michael Jurkovac, will.i.am, Fred Goldring and Sean Larkin at the 35th Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2008. Credit: Marc Bryan-Brown