for an undisclosed sum, according to TMZ. In April 2015, Depp's then-wife Amber Heard breached Australia's biosecurity laws when she failed to declare their two dogs to the customs when they flew to Queensland, where he was working on a film. Heard pleaded guilty to falsifying quarantine documents, stating that she had made a mistake due to sleep deprivation. She was placed on a $1,000 one-month good behavior bond for producing a false document; Heard and Depp also released a video in which they apologized for their behavior and urged people to adhere to the biosecurity laws. The Guardian called the case the "highest profile criminal quarantine case" in Australian history. In March 2016, Depp cut ties with his management company, The Management Group (TMG), and sued them in January 2017 for allegedly improperly managing his money and leaving him over $40 million in debt. TMG stated that Depp was responsible for his own fiscal mismanagement and countersued him for unpaid fees. In a related suit, Depp also sued his lawyers, Bloom Hergott, in January 2017. Both lawsuits were settled, the former in 2018 and the latter in 2019. In 2018, two of Depp's former bodyguards sued him for unpaid fees and unsafe working conditions. The suit was settled in 2019. Also in 2018, Depp was sued for allegedly hitting and verbally insulting a crew member while under the influence of alcohol on the set of City of Lies. A lawyer for Depp told the media that "Depp never touched the [crew member], as over a dozen witnesses present will attest"; meanwhile Depp's legal team entered a court filing that did not admit that Depp hit the crew member, but stated that the crew member "provoked" the incident with "unlawful and wrongful conduct", causing Depp and film director Brad Furman to fear for their safety. A film script supervisor submitted a court declaration that Depp did not hit the crew member, and only scolded him. Before the lawsuit went to trial, a tentative settlement regarding the dismissal of the lawsuit was reached between Depp and the crew member in July 2022. Alcohol and drug use Depp has struggled with alcoholism and addiction for much of his life. He has stated that he began using drugs by taking his mother's "nerve pills" at the age of 11, was smoking at age 12 and by the age of 14 had used "every