Michael Carbonaro might need to pull a rabbit out of his hat -- or from behind the counter -- 'cause he's heading to trial for allegedly screwing over the lady who created the idea for his hit TV magic show.
Carbonaro was sued in 2015 by producer Beth Einhorn, when she claimed he'd broken a verbal agreement that she says they struck in 2012, to create a show based on the popular 'Tonight Show' skit called "Magic Clerk" ... which she wrote and he starred in.
Einhorn claims she and Carbonaro entered into a 50/50 verbal contract to produce a spin-off series based on "Magic Clerk," which she says they called "TrickShow." It would've been similar in premise -- a hidden camera show where in-store hijinks fool customers.
Fast-forward to 2014 ... Einhorn says she discovered Michael suddenly had his own show, "The Carbonaro Effect" ... which Beth says is an exact duplicate of what they allegedly agreed to produce together. Einhorn claims Carbonaro peddled the show as his own thing ... without crediting or paying her a dime.
'TCE' went on to be a huge hit on truTV, and now the 2015 lawsuit is heading to a jury trial, which starts Wednesday.
Einhorn's gunning for major damages, alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, unfair competition and more.