Mel B blew her £38million fortune during her stormy marriage and has just £961 in her bank account. The revelation comes as a Los Angeles court heard how the former Spice Girl , who is locked in a bitter divorce row with Stephen Belafonte , squandered her cash by leading an “extravagant” lifestyle. A source said: “ Mel is an international superstar, still working as a judge on America’s Got Talent, but she only has a small amount of money in the bank, according to Companies House. “People may be very surprised.”
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The Sunday People can reveal Mel’s British account Moneyspider Productions, which has £961, was set up in 1997. Its nature of business was listed as “sound recording and music publishing activities”. The latest accounts are made up to August 31, 2016 and Mel signed them off in February. She is also a director of Spice Girls Limited and Octopus Direct Limited. She owns 20 per cent of Spice Girls Limited, which as of August 31, 2016 held £109,987 – with the remainder divided equally between other former Spice Girls.
Mel also owns 16 per cent of Octopus Direct, which held £10,549 on 31 August, 2016. Other shareholders are the former Spice Girls and Simon Fuller. After splitting from Belafonte, Mel claimed he physically and mentally abused her – which he vehemently denies. And Los Angeles Superior Court heard on Friday that the pair have huge tax debts. Grace Jamra, representing Belafonte, said: “Their lifestyle was extravagant. She wiped out all her Spice Girls money, approximately $50million (£38million), if not more.” Mel B, real name Melanie Brown, looked strained as she came face to face with Belafonte for the first time since their acrimonious split.
She wore high-waisted black trousers and a white shirt with a black tie, and sat clutching a tissue at the opposite side of the court to Belafonte, 42, who was bearded and went dressed in a suit. Jacalyn Davis, representing Mel, spoke of their tax problems, saying they were “sustained through improvident lifestyle choices”. She continued: “They never had money at the end of the year to pay their taxes. All their community income was being spent and then some. In this marriage, that would be Miss Brown’s income from the Spice Girls.” The court heard arguments over whether the former Scary Spice should temporarily pay spousal support and $200,000 (£154,000) in legal fees to Belafonte, who claims to have no income.
Larry Bakman, also representing Mel, said it would be “offensive” for her to pay for her alleged abuser to fight the case. Belafonte claims that prior to the breakup, he and Mel had lived a comfortable life and money was never an issue. In court documents, he stated that his ex earns “$220,000 (£167,000) and $250,000 (£190,000) a month” after making $1.587 million (£1.2million) from her America’s Got Talent contract. Additionally, he claims she makes $300,000 (£228,000) a year from her contract with nutrition company Jenny Craig. Belafonte’s lawyer also asked Judge Lawrence Riff to order the sale of the couple’s Los Angeles home if necessary. It is currently on the market for $8 million (£6.1million).
On Friday, Judge Riff told the warring pair he was “sorry they engaged in such a rancorous fight” as he concluded the spousal support hearing. He postponed his decision on whether Belafonte will be granted a total of $118,000 (£90,000) in spousal support until Wednesday. The ill-tempered hearing was split into two sessions and lasted over two-and-a-half hours. Neither Mel nor Belafonte spoke and both refused to comment afterwards. The full divorce hearing will begin on September 25. America’s Got Talent judge Mel married film producer Belafonte in Las Vegas in June 2007. They had been dogged for a long time by rumours that their marriage was in trouble and she finally filed for divorce on March 20 this year, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
She won a temporary restraining order after claiming her husband was abusive and had links to the porn industry. She also accused him of taking millions of dollars from her and forcing her into threesome sex. TV favourite Mel described how she was once so desperate she took an overdose. And she accused Belafonte of having an affair with their nanny, Lorraine Gilles, who became pregnant. In the court files, she stated: “I have tried to leave the Respondent many times. Every time I tried, the Respondent threatened me with violence and threatened to destroy my life in every way.”
Her lawyers claimed Belafonte was a danger to their child as a “convicted domestic violence offender” with an “extensive criminal history”. Belafonte has denied the claims and said he has been set up and made to look like a “bad guy” and was part of “an ongoing smear campaign”. While he was granted access to daughter Madison, five, Belafonte lost his battle to regain contact with Mel’s daughter Angel, who was born three months before she married Belafonte. Angel, 10, is Mel’s daughter with Hollywood actor Eddie Murphy but carries Belafonte’s name.
Source: mirror(uk)
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