Maverick City Music co-founder Chandler Moore has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the worship collective’s chief executive of diverting millions of dollars in royalties, just days before announcing his departure from the group.
The civil complaint, filed Oct. 1 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta and obtained by Billboard, alleges that CEO Norman Gyamfi, who once managed Moore, misused his position to take ownership stakes, commissions and publishing rights without Moore’s knowledge or consent.
The 30-year-old artist publicly announced on Oct. 6 that he was leaving Maverick City Music to pursue solo work and described the decision as “bittersweet.”
In the lawsuit, Moore names Gyamfi, Maverick City Music, its label TRIBL Records and several affiliated companies. The filing accuses Gyamfi of “abusing his power and the trust that Moore bestowed upon him,” citing a series of alleged financial manipulations that began in 2021.
Moore claims Gyamfi arranged the sale of Maverick City Music’s master recordings to Sony’s distribution arm, The Orchard, without disclosing that he would earn a commission from the deal.
The complaint further alleges that in 2022, Gyamfi instructed Sony’s Christian publishing division, Essential Music Publishing, to send Moore’s royalties to Maverick City Music instead of to Moore directly. To authorize the change, Gyamfi allegedly forged Moore’s signature on a co-publishing agreement that gave half of Moore’s composition rights to the group.
The lawsuit also states that Moore signed a contract with Maverick City Music in 2024 and completed his obligations by writing new songs and touring. However, he claims that Gyamfi and his associates withheld more than $800,000 in royalties that were owed to him.
Moore accuses Gyamfi of pocketing millions through self-dealing and unauthorized transactions. The suit seeks financial damages and asks the court to void Moore’s contracts with the group.
“Defendants’ greed, exploitation and misappropriation of Moore’s assets and intellectual property have deprived Plaintiffs of their contractually owed royalties, assets, monies and ownership interests,” the complaint says, according to Billboard.
Moore’s attorney, Sam Lipshie of the firm Bradley Arant, said in a statement that the singer had been taken advantage of by people he trusted. “We are fully committed to helping Chandler recover what is rightfully his,” Lipshie said, “and assist him in moving forward freely to continue building the even-brighter, impactful career that lies ahead for him.”
Moore’s lawsuit follows his and fellow member Naomi Raine’s recent announcements that they are leaving the award-winning worship group. The duo were founding members of Maverick City Music, which was established in 2018.
Moore said moving forward, he would focus on making music “that makes people feel a little more human, a little more understood, and a little less alone.”
“To my fans and supporters, thank you for rocking with me from the start. To Naomi, Brandon, Aaron, Dante, Joe L, and everyone else who was officially apart and unofficially, y’all have encouraged me, and I will not forget the moments we had,” he added.
Raine, in turn, described her departure as the result of “a lot of prayer and consideration.”
“This journey has changed my life forever. I don’t regret one single thing — the highs, the lows the lessons … all of it. I have learned a lot about God and people and myself. And I will always carry those lessons with me,” she wrote on Instagram.
One of the most visible worship collectives in the Christian music industry, Maverick City Music has earned five Grammy Awards, five GMA Dove Awards, a Billboard Music Award and Soul Train Music Award. They are best known for hits like “Promises” and “Jireh.”
“I have never experienced anything like this in my life,” Raine told The Christian Post in 2022 of the group’s success. “We all have personal stuff that we go through mentally, and some of the lies that the enemy told me are that ‘Nobody cares about what you have to say. Nobody cares about your voice. Just be quiet; just sit in the back.’ And so, a lot of my devotion and worship to Jesus was super personal and private, and I was good there. Then I realized the Lord wanted me to come out.
“When I’m out there worshiping, I’m not worshiping y’all. Like I’m not worshiping for y’all and to y’all, I’m worshiping God, and hopefully, somebody decides to worship Him too. It’s really about Him. So just to see that people are actually responding to that, and they want it, and they’re going deeper in their relationship with the Lord — people are getting saved, people are getting healed, getting delivered — like, that is just mind-blowing because He said He would do it. But it’s amazing. It’s like the miracle of childbirth. We know it happens every single day, but it doesn’t cease to be amazing.”
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
