Reality TV production company accuses Ikegami & Co. of falsifying books and attempting to extort $800,000

Following an FBI search of their Los Angeles offices earlier on Thursday, production company LMNO has filed a lawsuit against its former accountant for fraud and embezzlement.

The company is behind reality series “The Little Couple,” which it recently accused longtime partner Discovery Communications of stealing.

In the latest twist in the reality TV-style drama, LMNO has accused accountant Paul Ikegami of embezzlement, falsifying books and attempting to extort $800,000 from the company.

The 20-page lawsuit obtained by TheWrap was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court against Torrance-based Ikegami & Co. and Paul, who is the son of founding partner Ben Ikegami, with whom they had developed a trust.

From April 2010 to October 2015, Paul Ikegami “used his control over LMNO’s payment system and accounting system to embezzle funds, and further used his control over LMNO’s books and records to falsify entries to hide his embezzlement,” the lawsuit states.

“Then, when Ikegami’s behavior became erratic and LMNO decided to hire a new accountant in October 2015, Ikegami tried to hide his theft by withholding LMNO’s records, attempting to extort LMNO for more than $800,000, and when his demand was not met, sought to destroy LMNO by dumping its physical records into dumpsters, and then telling lies to LMNO’s largest customer about the financial records, over which Ikegami hadexercised control for years, and had repeatedly falsified.”

The lawsuit goes on to claim that the company is “only now beginning to piece together the full extent of Ikegami’s fraud and embezzlement. Virtually everything about Ikegami turns out to be fraudulent, down to the basic and original lie that he was even a CPA. LMNO has discovered more than $1,500,000 in unauthorized payments that Ikegami made to himself through a variety of schemes.”

It concludes that LMNO has been damaged to the tune of $1.5 million, with the exact amount to be determined at trial by jury.

LA-based attorneys Stephen Mick and David Nelson of Barnes & Thornburg LLP are representing LMNO.

Previously, LMNO had claimed that Discovery used ripped-off information and shady tactics to squirm out of a business agreement and started to make “The Little Couple” in-house instead. It also accused the publicly traded corporation (DISCA) also of weaseling out of arrangements for “7 Little Johnstons,” “Killer Confessions,” “Speaking For The Dead,” “Unusual Suspects” and “Hollywood & Crime.”

Click here for more information on the FBI search and prior accusations.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.