[14] He never received payment because Kavanaugh successfully argued that he was virtually penniless and his business on the verge of bankruptcy at the time of the judgment.

This gave Relativity Media the aura of a film production company and Kavanaugh a reputation as a producer[6]—without having creative involvement—in nearly 100 movies.

[9] Although Kavanaugh frequently cited the model's accuracy rate to be 85%, a source close to Elliott Associates, one of the company's principal (and earliest) lenders, estimated it to be much lower.

[25] Kavanaugh publicly claimed that he would buy out the hedge fund's stake to re-take charge of his company,[26][27] but Elliott Associates denied that they would sell to him.

Elliott Associates moved to take direct control of their film deal, eliminating Kavanaugh's executive producer fees, and significantly dropping their stake in Relativity Media.

[28] In November 2011, when Relativity Media was short on funds, investor Ron Burkle arranged a series of loans to Kavanaugh's company in exchange for interest.

Kavanaugh presented implausible valuations and "adjusted" EBITDA numbers to investors, which included projections based on films the company had already relinquished to Elliott Management.

[32] Shortly after the bankruptcy filing,[33] RKA Film Financing, then one of its lenders, sued the company for misappropriating marketing funds, called Kavanaugh a "con man", and alleged that he was operating a "scheme to defraud investors".

[37][39] The United States Trustee's office argued that the bankruptcy seemed to benefit Kavanaugh and the new buyer UltraV Holdings at the expense of Relativity Media's creditors.

The trustee learned that Kavanaugh paid himself $2.6 million between April and November 2016 while his company failed to pay bankruptcy fees or file tax returns.

They also questioned the legitimacy of Relativity Media's sale to UltraV Holdings since Kavanaugh continued to have extensive access at the company after the bankruptcy filing stated that he had already left.

[42][43] Relativity Media submitted the falsified memo to court two weeks before Fields's wrongful termination suit against Kavanaugh was set to be tried.

[46][47] A Los Angeles arbitration judge awarded Fields $8.4 million in damages and found that Kavanaugh "must be" one of the people who forged the sexual harassment memo.

[49] However, the potential Hong Kong-based partner announced the deal differently, saying that Proxima Media would pay $100 million for a stake in their production company.

Film industry peers and The Hollywood Reporter cast doubt on Kavanaugh's version of the announcement, citing the escalating trade war between the US and China and the unhealthy financial situation of the Hong Kong production company.

[53] Kavanaugh was confident that the Jobs Act would allow his platform to operate legally, but securities experts said that the project's inherent risks might increase scrutiny from the SEC.

[51] In 2019, Proxima Media acquired a majority stake in the video-sharing platform Triller, coinciding with the Trump administration's announcement that it intended to ban TikTok in the US.

[59] As of 2012, Kavanaugh has been involved to some capacity in either production or financing for over 200 films,[60] including The Fighter, Limitless, Hancock, Mamma Mia!, The Social Network, Salt, and Cowboys & Aliens.

[65] According to Forbes, while having been previously featured on their billionaires list in 2013,[57][66] Kavanaugh's net worth fell below $1 billion once Relativity Media filed for bankruptcy in 2015.

[74] A day after receiving the letter, actor Vivek Shah, who had been photographed with Kavanaugh at an event in 2011, was arrested on extortion charges and eventually convicted to seven years in prison.

[75][76] In 2014, an email thread obtained through the Sony Pictures hack was published, in which Kavanaugh decries the US government's handling of the Gaza–Israel conflict.

[77] Among the recipients was Natalie Portman who described the thread as "very disturbing"[78] and complained to Kavanaugh that she did not consent to have her private email address included in the mailing list and wished to be removed.

Kavanaugh responded, "Sorry, You are right jews being slaughtered [...] is much much less important then [sic] your email address being shared with 20 of our peers"[77] and continued to include her in the mailing list.

In 2007, Kavanaugh presented Habitat for Humanity with an oversized check pledging $1 million and announced he would become a fund-raising chair for the charity.