Singer Niko Moon Sued By Former Manager For Allegedly Cutting Him Out of Business

Niko Moon -- a prominent country music star -- is being sued by his former PR rep ... who says the singer cut him out of a very lucrative business deal.

Zack Teperman is suing Moon for breach of contract ... saying the two cofounded Happy Himalayan Water Company -- explaining Moon had the public stature to promote the projects while Teperman had the connections to get the business up and running.

He claims the two worked on everything -- from the taste of the water to the design of the bottle -- and even cohosted a launch event together back in May.

As evidence, Teperman includes photos of several emails ... in which it appears Moon refers to him as his "partner" when communicating with people about official Happy Himalayan business.

But, when it came time to make a deal for their company, ZT says Moon terminated their partnership and entered into business deals on his own.

Teperman says he and Niko agreed he would receive 10% profit interest in the company ... which would increase by 1% each year, capping at a 15% profit share. Teperman said he then worked to set up lucrative business deals with retailers to sell the water.

Less than two weeks after Teperman says he and Moon agreed to the financial arrangement, he claims Niko announced he was terminating their partnership. Zack says Niko did this just before entering into several huge distribution deals that Zack set up for him.

Teperman is asking for at least $1 million in damages.