NETWORK CHARGES DR. PHIL IS DR. FRAUD!

$500M lawsuit claims TV shrink lied, cheated and stole!

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Phil McGraw's longrunning daytime talk show, Dr. Phil, premiered in 2002 and aired for 21 seasons, ending in May 2023

TOUGH-TALKING Dr. Phil McGraw — who built a TV empire preaching hard truths to America — is now facing an ugly conflict in his own life as a Christian broadcasting biz is painting him as a cheater, liar and fraud who wrongly pocketed $100 million of their dough.

The National ENQUIRER's Rob Shuter was the first to exclusively report in February that sources claimed Merit Street Media — the TV venture founded by McGraw through a $500 million deal with Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) — was hemorrhaging cash, losing staff and putting on fake shows in a desperate bid to woo investors.

But after Merit filed for bankruptcy in July — and blamed TBN for its financial woes — the network fired back by slapping McGraw and his Peteski Productions with a searing 44-page lawsuit, accusing the righteous bigmouth of “reprehensible conduct” and double-crossing sabotage.

A company insider tells The ENQUIRER, “[McGraw] literally called [the partnership] a ‘gangster move.’

“We called it betrayal.”

The lawsuit alleges the 75-year-old TV titan and Peteski engaged in a “years-long fraudulent scheme that they developed and executed to fleece TBN, a not-for-profit corporation, to enrich McGraw, his associates and affiliates.”

The filing also states, “TBN is confident that the truth will set it free, and result in Peteski and McGraw being held accountable for their reprehensible conduct.”

Some of McGraw's associates who inked lucrative distribution deals in the Merit fiasco were funnyman Steve Harvey, crime-fighting TV reporter Nancy Grace, podcast cohosts Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima, and the owner/producer of Cops, the TBN lawsuit alleges.

“This wasn’t a network. It was a feeding frenzy for his friends,” the insider tells The ENQUIRER.