Braxton Sues Former Manager

Toni Braxton is suing her former manager for at least $10 million, claiming he conned her into leaving Arista Records for his own label.

Filed in Manhattan U.S. District Court January 12th, the lawsuit accuses Barry Hankerson of fraud, deception and double-dealing to coerce Braxton into ending her long-term, lucrative major label deal.

"Hankerson actively sought to destroy Braxton’s relationship with Arista through underhanded ‘double-talk,’ telling Braxton that Arista was not interested in working with her anymore, while telling Arista that Braxton no longer wanted to record for Arista," the lawsuit says.

The Grammy-winning singer cut ties with Arista in 2003 and signed a multi-album deal with Blackground Records.

The lawsuit claims Hankerson broke terms of the agreement by failing to send her the accounting statements and lying about deals he made.