LEGAL BATTLE

Cher Sues LA Billionaire Over Alleged Stock Sale Fraud

The performer says she was duped into selling shares far below the market rate.

Performer Cher has filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong alleging he and others tricked her into selling her shares in a Florida-based drug company for a fraction of what they were worth. Cher sold her shares in Altor back to the company early last year at $1.50 each for a total of $450,000—a price the lawsuit describes as “unreasonably below-market.” In the lawsuit filed Friday, Cher says that when she was asked to sell her shares back, she was not informed the drug company was making progress with a drug in clinical trials for treating cancer and AIDS/HIV. Soon-Shiung, who acquired the outstanding shares of Altor in 2016 through NantCell, is named in the suit along with Altor cofounder Hing C. Wong and Fred Middleton, a vice chairman of the company’s board. The lawsuit, which alleges fraudulent concealment and breach of fiduciary duty, seeks damages and attorney fees and costs.