Paramount’s Jeff Shell strikes back against Vegas gambler, alleging extortion plot

Paramount President Jeff Shell has fired back in his ugly feud with a Las Vegas gambler and FBI informant, contending that Robert “R.J.” Cipriani has fictionalized the two men’s dealings, then spread “false and salacious lies to extract a massive payday.”

Shell filed a lawsuit one week after the high-roller had sued Shell in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Cipriani’s suit had alleged fraud and breach of an oral contract tied to his claims that Shell failed to deliver on a verbal pledge to help him develop an English-language version of a Spanish music show that streams on Roku TV. Cipriani has been seeking $150 million in damages.

However, Shell’s lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, pushes back against Cipriani’s allegations and contends that Shell was the victim of extortion and defamation.

“R.J. Cipriani did not come to Court to enforce some purported oral agreement. He came to complete a shakedown,” according to Shell’s counter-claim lawsuit. “Cipriani’s playbook works like this: use a trusted mutual connection to cozy up to a high-profile target; leech to the fringes of the target’s world while manufacturing the illusion of closeness; falsely claim you have been helping the target from behind the scenes.”

Shell contends that he never agreed to hire Cipriani and that it wasn’t clear what, if any, services Cipriani provided.

Shell’s suit also alleges that Cipriani manipulated texts that Shell had sent him via the WhatsApp messaging platform to make it look like Shell had spilled corporate secrets — an allegation that Shell denies.

“Cipriani …. overplayed his hand,” Shell’s lawsuit alleged. “He placed a high-stakes bet that, if he concocted an utterly false tale that Shell had disclosed confidential details about Paramount’s business, Shell would pay Cipriani a ransom to keep him from going public with his heinous lies. But Shell called his bluff.”

The move comes as Shell faces scrutiny after his Paramount bosses hired a law firm to investigate his surreptitious dealings with Cipriani, a self-styled whistleblower and “fixer.” Investigators have been reviewing whether Shell leaked sensitive corporate secrets during his association with Cipriani, who had volunteered to be Shell’s “crisis PR” consultant.

“Cipriani’s use of threats to extract money was extortion,” Shell’s suit said. “Cipriani’s false and incendiary accusations in the press and to countless others that Shell had violated securities law are defamation per se.”

“This is obviously an attempt by Mr. Shell, and whomever is giving him PR advice, to recapture the narrative,” said attorney Steven J. Aaronoff, who represents Cipriani. “As to the cross-complaint itself, we find it completely outrageous — it’s based on a number of, we think, intentional misunderstandings and misconceptions of the law and the facts about this situation. It just shows Jeff Shell’s desperation.”

Cipriani gained notoriety helping the FBI in the arrest and conviction of a USC athlete-turned-global drug kingpin, Owen Hanson, who was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison. Cipriani also frequently made contact with Hollywood reporters.

High-powered attorney Patty Glaser introduced Cipriani to Shell in August 2024. Both men were clients at the time and Glaser and Shell believed Cipriani was attempting to stir up negative media coverage about Shell to scuttle his comeback after his ouster from NBCUniversal, where he served as chief executive for three years.

Shell was fired from NBC in April 2023 after acknowledging an “inappropriate relationship” with an underling. The woman, a CNBC anchor, had filed an internal complaint of sexual harassment against Shell, leading to his dismissal.

Glaser “encouraged Shell to meet with [Cipriani] … if he saw that Shell was a ‘good person,’ he would refrain from targeting Shell in the future,” Shell’s lawsuit said of Glaser’s motive.

During the Aug. 26, 2024, meeting, the two men shared pleasantries and chatted about their families.

“As far as Shell was concerned, that was the end of it,” the lawsuit said. “But Cipriani kept popping up, uninvited, on his phone.”

The lawsuit suggests Shell had initiated contact once during the summer. Paramount, along with CEO David Ellison and Shell, were engaged in a bitter contract negotiations with the team behind Comedy Central’s “South Park” animated series. “Shell had been receiving death threats” and he “needed a 24/7 security detail,” the lawsuit said.

Shell wanted to see whether Cipriani had any guidance, the suit said.

“Instead of offering insights, Cipriani offered to threaten [the “South Park”] attorney who was involved in the dispute,” the lawsuit said. “Cipriani’s unscrupulous approach made Shell uncomfortable.”

Robert James “R.J.” Cipriani in Amazon Prime Video’s 2025 series, “Cocaine Quarterback.”

(Prime )

Shell thanked Cipriani and wrote: “‘I owe you dinner!’” but Shell didn’t follow through.

That’s around the time that Cipriani began pressing Shell to greenlight the TV show based on the Roku “Serenata De Las Estrellas,” which he co-produces. Shell declined.

In late January, Cipriani reached out to Shell again, saying he had an urgent matter.

Glaser set up a second meeting, also at her Century City offices. At the Feb. 2 session, Cipriani alleged that he’d worked for Shell for 18 months without pay. Shell countered that there was no agreement and he had no idea what services Cipriani had provided.

Cipriani began sending Glaser screenshots of his communications with Shell, including a purported conversation in July about Paramount’s deal to broadcast UFC fights. Shell’s suit contends the missive was a fabrication by Cipriani sent months after the fact, which Aaronoff denies.

“The blockbuster Paramount-UFC deal had been publicly announced on August 11, 2025 — months before Cipriani was alleging that Shell purportedly disclosed this information to him,” the suit said.

Former NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer spoke with Shell on Feb. 22. He allegedly told Shell he “might be able to convince Cipriani to reduce the amount of his demand,” the lawsuit said.

Meyer reported back that “Cipriani had been looking for at least $10 million, but that Meyer might be able to get him to accept $5 million to withdraw his threats,” the lawsuit said. “Shell told Meyer he would not pay Cipriani a cent.”

Meyerdeclined to comment.

Shell’s lawsuit was brought by Steven Olson of law firm O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles.

Shell officially joined Paramount with David Ellison’s takeover in August but he had been part of Ellison’s team for nearly two years as they laid the groundwork to assemble the pieces of Ellison’s growing empire, first by acquiring Paramount and then Warner Bros. Discovery.

The longtime media executive also serves as a member of Paramount’s board.