Timbaland has filed a $15 million lawsuit against his former manager and business manager, accusing the two executives of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and civil theft, among other charges.
In a 65-page lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, Timbaland alleges that the manager, Gary Marella, “stole millions in unauthorized commissions, fees and reimbursements,” used Timbaland’s money to pay Marella’s employees, and “falsified financial records and communications to conceal unauthorized payments” from the producer.
Timbaland’s former business manager Bruce Seckendorf, whose real name is Timothy Mosley, is alleged to have “failed to pay Mosley’s mortgage and allowed his home to teeter on the brink of foreclosure.”
The lawsuit claims that Seckendorf’s company “failed to pay substantial federal taxes on time, resulting in millions in penalties and interest, while continuing to pay millions in commissions, fees and alleged loan payments to himself, the Marella defendants and other professionals.”
“Defendants used their entrusted authority to enrich themselves and others, conceal financial misconduct, and squander Timbaland’s valuable assets,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiffs seek to recover their damages, compel an accounting, and stop Defendants’ continued unauthorized use of Timbaland’s name for the benefit of Defendants.”
According to the lawsuit, Timbaland only found out about the alleged misconduct because he received a foreclosure notice on his home last year. The lawsuit states that after receiving the notice, Timbaland called Seckendorff, whom the producer says “failed to clearly explain why his office failed to make the mortgage payment without notifying Mosley.”
Timbaland then hired independent legal counsel and financial representatives who investigated the issue, “uncovering unauthorized payments, concealed credit-card arrangements, miscommunications, undisclosed liabilities and alleged debts to which Mosley never knowingly consented,” the lawsuit states.
“The foreclosures did not occur simply because the plaintiffs did not have the money,” the complaint says, adding that “the Seckendorf defendants prioritized approximately $900,000 in payments to defendants and attorneys that they owed over five months, while failing to pay twelve months of mortgage arrears that they hid from Mosley.”
According to the lawsuit, both defendants were dismissed in 2025. Neither Marella, Seckendorf nor their respective firms immediately responded to requests for comment.
According to the complaint, Timbaland first began working directly with Marella and Seckendorff in 2016 while dealing with financial misconduct claims against his previous representation. Marella is the CEO of Mono Music Group, which has represented Timbaland along with other hitmakers like Poo Bear and ATL Jacob. Seckendorf is a partner at LL Business Management, which was listed on Billboard’s Top Business Managers list last year and represents companies such as Feed, Pusha T, Clipse and Cirkut, among others. Mono Music Group, LL Business Management and the firm Seckendorf Hassan Reilly & Kobe CPA are all also co-defendants in the lawsuit.
Marella and Seckendorf had worked with Timbaland during a period of significant business ventures for the producer, including launching his popular Verzuz series with Swizz Beatz during the pandemic and selling his catalog to the Hipgnosis Song Fund in 2019.
Specifically in relation to Verzuz, Timbaland alleges that Marella took $500,000 more than he was entitled to in two separate incidents related to a $5 million payment from the venture. The lawsuit says that on the Hipgnosis sale, Marella took $775,000 more than his allotted 10 percent commission.
Marella also co-founded the beat marketplace BeatClub with Timbaland, although as the lawsuit alleges, Marella “grossly mismanaged” the company and treated Mosley as a piggy bank to fix the problems he had created. The lawsuit claims that Marella “misappropriated investors’ funds, spent company money contrary to the manner in which it was intended to be used, failed to pay BeatClub’s obligations, failed to pay employees and creators he hired, and spent money contrary to board restrictions.”
Timbaland alleges Seckendorff “knowingly provided substantial assistance through payment authorization, disbursement, and control over Plaintiff’s financial accounts, thereby substantially enabling the misconduct and contributing to Plaintiff’s resulting loss.”
Timbaland also brings claims for fraudulent concealment, breach of contract, and misuse of name, photograph and likeness.
“The defendants spent the majority of their careers profiting from Timbaland’s career, catalog, reputation, and relationships,” the lawsuit states, “yet the plaintiffs were left with diminished assets, undisclosed liabilities, costly litigation, and the burden of rebuilding their own financial affairs.”