Lawsuit alleges Sony investigated WPP's media operation and said it ran a 'global crime scheme'
A legal filing alleges Sony hired investigators to probe WPP, who said the agency improperly withheld rebates from clients.
A newly filed lawsuit alleges that Sony investigated WPP's media operation and determined it ran a "global crime scheme" involving improperly withheld rebates. According to the lawsuit, Sony shared its findings with WPP in 2025. The lawsuit claims WPP's media arm, GroupM, improperly withheld rebates from clients for its own profit, using a network of intermediaries to keep the funds rather than passing them directly to clients.
The filing asserts that WPP used rebate funds to subsidize ad inventory costs and kept the resulting margins as profit. The lawsuit alleges this scheme was designed by senior WPP executives and was deployed globally, including in China. Sony's investigation reportedly found that WPP returned approximately $110 million to clients in China while retaining $350 million for itself.
The lawsuit also alleges WPP retaliated against Richard Foster, a former GroupM executive, after he raised concerns about the company's practices.
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