Broadway Producer Pays $550K In Settlement After AG Probe

TRIBECA, NY — A Broadway producer will pay $550,000 to settle a state investigation into his theater nonprofit after prosecutors found that he had been improperly using the nonprofit's funds for personal reasons.

David Richenthal, a Tony-winning Broadway producer, will cough up the restitution money to the Richenthal Foundation, which was founded by his father in 1963.

Acting New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced the settlement on Monday, marking the end of the office's investigation in the foundation's finances. Richenthal, who has produced Broadway shows including "The Crucible" and "Death of a Salesman," used $500,000 of the nonprofit's funds on himself, spending the money on things like personal travel and entertainment as well as legal fees, according to Underwood.

Richenthal was reimbursed by the foundation for at least $240,000 in personal expenses, without oversight from the foundation's board, the investigation concluded. Richenthal used another $250,000 of the nonprofit's money to settle litigation with a former romantic partner, Underwood's office said. Richenthal's longtime partner sued him in 2009 after saying he hadn't paid her money she was promised, the New York Post reported at the time.

As part of the settlement, Richenthal is barred from access to the foundation's funds and from having any fiduciary role in New York nonprofits. The organization also agreed to implement better oversight of its funds moving forward. Richenthal will no longer serve as the foundation's director, a role for which he was paid $175,000 in salary in 2016, according to the nonprofit's tax returns.

Richenthal, who admitted to the investigation's findings, has already paid back $400,000 to the Foundation and agreed to pay an additional $150,000.

The Richenthal Foundation, which is headquartered in Tribeca, is primarily a grant-making organization that provided funding for nonprofit theater groups. In 2015, the nonprofit gave money to organizations including the Public Theater and the Flea Theater, according to tax returns.

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