(From left) James Reid and Jeffrey Oh. Images: Screengrab from YouTube/Ogie Diaz, Facebook/Jeffrey Oh
James Reid broke his silence on Jeffrey Oh—ex-CEO of Careless and his former business partner—revealing that he owed him more than P100 million and had several liabilities from other companies that haven’t been settled, as of this writing.
More than a year after Oh’s detention and release from the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Reid addressed the Korean-American businessman’s termination from Careless in an interview with Ogie Diaz on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
The singer-entrepreneur was accompanied by his legal counsel, Atty. Rodel de Guzman, during the interview.
“My legal counsel, Atty. Rodel de Guzman is here for [matters related to] Jeffrey. I met [de Guzman] last year to help with a lot of the issues. When Jeff was originally arrested for immigration issues, we hired [de Guzman] to look into the company and do an audit, to resolve and fix everything,” Reid said.
Oh was terminated from Careless on July 2, 2024, and his connections with Careless Holdings Ltd, Careless Music Manila, Inc., Careless Productions OPC, Island City Music PH OPC, and Premiere Private Label Inc. were cut off as well, per Reid.
Careless’ statement on the termination of Korean-American businessman Jeffrey Oh. Image: Screengrab from YouTube/Ogie Diaz
The “Randomantic” singer shared that he sought the help of de Guzman when Oh was detained at the BI in August 2023 due to lack of work permits and other related paperwork.
It was also revealed that the Korean-American businessman would get into several transactions with several companies using Reid’s name, which eventually led him to owe the “Pinoy Big Brother” alum money.
“I had no idea a lot of this was happening. It was actually happening for months and had kept me separate from the rest of my team, kept me in the dark about all of these business dealings telling me, ‘Oh nothing’s happening, I’ll let you know.’ It wasn’t until I came forth and finally met with [Atty. Rodel de Guzman] and explained to him all of the business dealings I had with him and all the relationships I had with Jeff,” recalled Reid.
“And how much money he owed me, the contracts that he never gave me, and finally when all of that came out, his official recommendation to terminate him and give him a chance to sign those contracts and make those deals right, wala (nothing). He left. He tricked me. I’ve been working with him for a very long time and it turns out he wasn’t the person he said he was,” he further explained.
Questionable business practices
During the interview, de Guzman shared that aside from Reid, ex-Careless talent Liza Soberano sought his help to do an audit of the company in August 2023.
“Kulang ang papeles ni Jeffrey Oh para magtrabaho dito sa Pilipinas… Ang reminder ko kay James is, iisa lang ang rehistradong may-ari [ng Careless], si James Reid lang. Kung ano man ang magiging problema ng kompanya, siya ang madadawit. Napag-usapan na pormal na alisin si Jeffrey Oh para alam ng publiko na wala nang relasyon si Jeffrey Oh sa kompanya,” he said.
Reid’s legal counsel also shared that he, Reid, and Oh discussed his termination in the process, which included the planned audit of Careless. It was also discussed that Oh was required to submit financial- and business-related reports that would show his previous transactions under the label’s name.
“Ang nangyari, nag-postpone na lang siya nang nag-postpone until mabalitaan namin na lumipad na siya papuntang [Los Angeles]. Hindi na kami binalikan. Nagpasabi sa kaibigan niya na ayaw na niya makipagusap sa’min. Ang ginawa namin, pinadala namin siya ng mga sulat kasi marami siyang naging accountabilities sa ’Pinas. Hanggang ngayon, wala pa kaming sagot,” de Guzman added.
The singer-actor also chimed in, saying, “More than a hundred million is to me personally, and there’s more for the company [and] other companies.”
James Reid, Jeffrey Oh, and Liza Soberano. Image: Instagram/@james
De Guzman stated that his auditing in the company is not yet finished, as of press time. And they are still unearthing more of Oh’s questionable business practices.
“‘Yung mga dating obligasyon noong wala pa kami, siguro umabot ng more than a hundred million. At itong mga bagong obligasyon, meron pa ring mga bagong lumitaw na hindi namin alam na pinasok niya. Ginamit niya ang pangalan ng Careless and Island City na kompanya ni James,” he added.
When asked if Careless is planning to file a legal action against Oh, de Guzman said they have plans to do so. However, he wants to ensure that his audit of the company is settled before proceeding.
‘He’s a fraud’
Reid also touched on the controversial Wavy Baby music festival in January 2023, which was spearheaded by Oh at the time. “He once again kept me in the dark about the music festival and all the sponsors.”
“I didn’t find out until two days before the concert that he didn’t actually close any of the sponsors,” he continued. “So I ended up fronting almost the entire thing, to which he promised to pay me back, but it never happened.”
(L-R) James Reid, Liza Soberano and Careless CEO Jeffrey Oh. Image: Instagram/@carelessph
Despite his past experiences with Oh, Reid said he’s “very happy” that the Korean-American businessman is already “out of the picture.”
“At the end of the day, his true colors showed, and he’s a fraud. I’m very happy that he’s gone now. Our entire team, staff, and everyone is a lot happier that he’s out of the picture and things are starting to make sense,” he said.
Oh has remained silent on social media since his BI detention. He has yet to address his past transactions with Careless, as of press time.