The story of the man who worked for Pearl Jam and betrayed them.

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I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.

Bursting onto the rock scene in 1991 with their seminal debut record Ten and following it up with the massive records 1993’s Vs. and the following year’s vitalogy, Pearl Jam would establish themselves as one of the biggest rock acts of the 90’s. While their career would go through turbulent times in the later part of the decade thanks to their fight with ticketmaster and the band no longer releasing music videos, Pearl Jam have managed to stay relevant for 30 plus years. But in the 2010’s the band would be taken advantage of by someone close to them. That’s what we’re going to explore in today’s video.
Pearl Jam throughout their career have been managed by Kelly Curtis who runs the company Curtis Inc.. In 2012 it would be reported that a member of Curtis’ management team was skimming some of the band’s income. Chief Financial Officer for Curtis Inc. Rickey Charles Goodritch was accused of taking money from teh band’s accounts. The thefts were alleged to have occurred over a four year period from 2006 to 2010 when he was fired. Goodritch had begun working for Pearl Jam in 2005 and joined Curtis Inc. the following year. In 2009, Pearl Jam’s management became suspicious after thousands of dollars that were supposed to be paid to band members and crew went unaccounted for. In addition to that Goodritch was also involved in the Ten Club -- Pearl Jam's fan club, which also had cash flow issues.


The Seattle Times would report and I quote
“He was responsible for, and had complete authority over all financial matters related to Pearl Jam’s touring operations, which included establishing budgets, approving court settlement statements with promoters, distributing ‘road cash’ to band and crew members and approving and paying for tour expenses,” charging documents say.
When the band switched business-management companies in early 2006, the new company “looked to Goodrich to handle all tour-related financial matters,” the papers say.


The Seattle Times would report that Goodrich was confronted about the discrepancy in May of 2010 after Pearl jam got off the road. Goodrich at the time was filling in for the group’s tour accountant and claimed he paid the band $15,000 referring to it as “road cash.” However Pearl Jam and their management claimed this wasn’t true. Upon being backed into a corner Goodrich claimed he paid bonuses to the band’s road crew, who also denied receiving any money. The band’s management soon hired investigators to look into the matter. investigators learned Goodrich was transferring money from Curtis Inc. to his personal accounts to help pay off his and his wife’s debts and used company credit cards to pay for lavish vacations, personal shopping trips and wine. The theft costed the band about $380,000 US, but when you add hiring the private investigators that number rose to $556,000 (£354,000). Goodrich would be fired by the band in September of 2010. By January of 2011, the Seattle police got involved, launching their own investigation. Kelly Curits would issue a statement to the press that read “we are deeply saddened by this situation.


Goodrich would be charged with 33 counts of theft in June 2012 and would enter a plea deal.
Goodrich, in 2013, who was 55, would plead guilty to six counts of felony theft. Up until this point he had paid back $125,000 and agreed to pay a further $181,000 in to the band. In 2014 since Goodrich hadn’t paid the band back fully, he was sentanced to 14 months in prison. Had he paid the band back he would have only faced 6 months in prison.