A former chief executive at WPP Media — the powerhouse behind the global reality sensation “Love Island” — has launched a $100 million legal battle, alleging he was abruptly pushed out after sounding the alarm about what he describes as unlawful, concealed profit schemes buried inside the company’s billing practices.
Richard Foster, the longtime leader of WPP’s Motion Content Group, claims the media giant transformed client advertising discounts into a clandestine profit machine while brushing aside internal warnings that the operation posed a severe legal and financial hazard.
Alleged Hidden Profit Pipeline
According to Foster’s suit, filed in New York County Supreme Court, WPP pooled the massive purchasing power of its clients to negotiate volume-driven discounts from vendors. But instead of returning those benefits to the advertisers footing the bill, Foster alleges the company quietly diverted them into an “undisclosed profit center.”
Foster, whose division co-financed and co-produced thousands of projects worldwide — including “Love Island” and the documentary “Group Therapy” — said he intentionally built his team to operate outside what he viewed as WPP’s improper rebate and inventory practices.
