Tamara Ralph says her luxury fashion label ‘destroyed because my ex-boyfriend stole millions’

Glamor designer Meghan Markles’ 56,000 engagement gown accused her former business partner and boyfriend of stealing millions of pounds from their luxury fashion label Ralph & Russo, contributing to its collapse.

For a decade, Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo were one of the toughest couples in fashion, with A-list clients including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Kylie Minogue.

But exploding court documents, seen by The Mail on Sunday, claim their professional relationship was shattered because Russo bullied and harassed her after he tried to stop her from looting large sums from their company.

Earlier this month, we revealed how both Ms Ralph and Mr Russo have been accused in legal documents of robbing millions of pounds from well-known fashion labels to finance their jet-set lifestyle.

For a decade, Tamara Ralph (pictured) and Michael Russo were one of the toughest couples in fashion, with A-list clients including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Kylie Minogue.

We also report allegations that Ralph & Russos’ retirement pot was raided before it was put into administration in March, and that 2.8 million was owed to tax officials. The Office of Serious Fraud and the Pensions Regulator have been notified of the allegations of financial misconduct.

Ms Ralph, 39, who was sued in High Court by the company through an administrator for 20.8 million damages, has always denied the allegations. Now, in an extraordinary legal document detailing his defense, he claims:

• Investigations found that Mr Russo spent company money at a casino in Londons Mayfair and rented classified property in LA;
• He used the label money to fund a trip to Dubai, where he booked an adjoining penthouse hotel suite;
• He went behind him and bought a luxury Range Rover using company funds;
• She attempted to block him from using the company’s bank account;
• Russo launched a campaign of intimidation, harassment and harassment against him;
• The stress of Russos’ behavior, and being sued by an investor-owned company, caused Ms Ralph, who was pregnant, to be hospitalized;
• Russo was fired as CEO of the company last October for his abusive behavior towards him.

Glamorous designer Meghan Markles (pictured) 56,000 engagement dresses accuse her former business partner and boyfriend of stealing millions of pounds from their luxury fashion label Ralph & Russo, contributing to its collapse

Australians Ms Ralph and Mr Russo founded their label in 2010. They won global acclaim in December 2017 after designing the black dress with beaded bodice that Meghan wore for her official engagement photo.

Court documents claim their romance ended in 2017 and their professional relationship continued to deteriorate from 2019 as a result of Russos’ discrimination, harassment, harassment and intimidation of Ralph.

It said that in late 2019, the company’s chief financial officer had informed Ms Ralph that a large cash withdrawal was made by Russo apparently not for business purposes.

In February 2020, he was warned that the company violated an agreement that no more than 2.5 million could be paid in the so-called director’s loan.

Ms Ralph said she told Russo to stop withdrawing funds and repay the amount owed. But documents claim he was ignored and in March Russo used company funds to book three first-class flights and an interconnected suite of penthouse hotels in Dubai.

It is claimed that the following month, Ralph tried to stop Russos’ spending by insisting that he and the company’s chief financial officer agree on future payments, but he again refused to comply.

Ms Ralph said her attempts to challenge the behavior of her business partners resulted in a campaign of intimidation, harassment and harassment becoming increasingly hostile and escalating into repeated threatening statements that she wanted Ms Ralph dead. He claims this caused his panic attacks.

In a further extraordinary twist, Ms Ralph claimed that Russo’s alleged abusive conduct led to him being fired for a serious misdemeanor on October 9, 2020. Administrators last night claimed that Russo had left the company seven months earlier, leaving Ms Ralph in sole responsibility. in the year before the collapse. A source close to Ms Ralph challenged this account, however, saying that Russo and the new CEO served as directors during this period.

Administrators accused Ms Ralph of spending thousands of pounds of company money on luxury hotels, business class flights, underwear, yoga classes, beauty treatments and hair appointments. But he denies stripping the company of its cash reserves and using the funds to finance a lavish lifestyle. He said that the company’s use of expense accounts was completely transparent.

Of the money he withdrew in the so-called director’s loan, he said he had paid 316,000 and intended to repay the 195,000 that had not been paid.

Explosive court documents, seen by The Mail on Sunday, claim their professional relationship was ruined because Russo (pictured) bullied and harassed him after he tried to stop him from looting large sums of money from their company.

He blamed his ex-partner for the missing millions. Russo abused his position as CEO, and his access to the company’s bank accounts and associated bank cards, by misappropriating millions from the company and by taking steps to conceal this misappropriation, legal documents said.

Ms Ralph, who now lives in the South of France with his billionaire girlfriend, Bhanu Choudhrie, admitted that the company bought the Rolls-Royce in 2017 but said it was being used for business purposes and she believed it would raise the company’s profile. He claims Russo used company funds to buy a Range Rover without his knowledge and then subjected him to serious harassment when he objected.

His legal papers also claim that Russo used company funds to pay for two rental properties in London, which his girlfriend appears to have used. And it is claimed that the company also paid for rental properties in Los Angeles that were falsely described as being located in Dubai, where the label had opened a boutique.

Ms Ralph claims that earlier this year property administrator and developer Nick Candy, whose company Candy Ventures Sarl loaned the fashion house 17 million, pressured her to continue working with Russo, who remains as director despite being allegedly fired as CEO. This pressure was applied despite detailed knowledge of Russos’ grave breach of Ms Ralph, defense documents state.

The administrators, Begbies Traynor Group and Quantuma Advisory Ltd, said: Russo went out of business in March 2020 (when he moved to Dubai), leaving Ralph in sole responsibility from that point onwards. As stipulated in the lawsuit against him, the misuse of pension funds, tax contributions, and misuse of company funds occurred under his supervision from March 2020 until it entered the administration on March 17, 2021.

Candy Ventures Sarl says: More than 70 million investments have been wasted, pensions have been stolen, and company accounts have been misrepresented. This is an act of serious financial misconduct and we look forward to the evidence presented in the High Court.

A former staff member said: I am appalled by the lawsuit against Tamara Ralph. It is inconceivable that company funds and pension contributions from hard-working staff could be used to fund Tamara’s extravagant lifestyle in the South of France when she should be trying to save the company and save jobs.

A spokesman for Russo said he was not involved in executive decisions for nearly a year before the company fell into administration.

He added: “Russo is shocked and saddened that Tamara Ralph has chosen to make serious, misleading and false accusations against him as part of his defense of claims against him from administrators Ralph & Russos. Mr Russo worked tirelessly with Ms Ralph for over a decade to build the company from nothing into a global brand and has only the greatest respect and admiration for her.

In a statement, Tamara Ralph said: “I will let others reflect on the irony of the female founder of Ralph & Russos, the creative power and face of the brand, being bullied, unfairly blamed and targeted for financial mismanagement, despite trying to prevent it. Furthermore, being a victim in a public black campaign is terrible.