Comic legend Stan Lee is suing his former business manager for elder abuse and fraud, according to a suit filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court.
In the suit, obtained by
Deadline, Lee, who is responsible for creating many of the Marvel characters we love today, alleges he became
"the target of various unscrupulous businessmen, sycophants, and opportunists" looking to take advantage of his
"despondent state of mind" following the death of his wife Joan B. Lee in late 2017.
The suit
specifically names Jerardo Olivarez as
"one such opportunist." A former business associate of Lee's daughter, JC Lee, the suit claims Olivarez took control of Stan Lee's professional and financial affairs.
"As a result of Olivarez' acts of omissions in violating the trust Lee accorded him, Lee was induced into losing a tremendous amount of money as money and assets were transferred to Olivarez by Lee without Lee being aware these actions were being taken."
Specifically, the suit mentions that Olivarez fired Lee's banker of 26 years and other longtime lawyers, causing approximately $4.6 million dollars to be transferred out of Lee's account. Olivarez also allegedly convinced the grieving Lee to sign over power of attorney and appoint Olivarez's own lawyer, Uri Litvaks, as Lee's attorney.
Lee was allegedly duped into donating $300,000 to a bogus charity, the Hands of Respect, which Olivarez claimed was a
"caring non-profit charity to easy racial tension," the suit claims.
“Olivarez misled Lee and the public into thinking that it was a caring non-profit charity to ease racial tension, when in reality, Hands of Respect was just a scheme to appropriate funds from Lee and the public to enrich Olivarez.”
The lawsuit also claims that Lee "through subterfuge and half-truths" purchased a West Hollywood condominium for Olivarez' exclusive use for $850,000, without Lee’s knowledge, approval or participation. Another nearly $1.4 million is alleged to have disappeared from Lee's accounts "through a series of complicated wire-transfers all initiated and ultimately received by Olivarez," the suit says.
Perhaps the most alarming claim is that Olivarez had a nurse inject Lee with a syringe and extract containers of blood, which Olivarez, through Hands of Respect, would later sell in Las Vegas as a collectible. This claim particularly falls in line with reports from earlier this month that Lee's blood had been stolen and used to to sign memorabilia and comic books featuring "Stan Lee's Solvent DNA Ink." According to that report, the former business associate is alleged to have presented a nurse with a forged document that gave him authority to order a blood sample.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of Lee posting a video denying he was a victim of abuse, and threatening to sue "the a** off" anyone publishing misinformation, although it's unclear if Lee was under duress during the recording of such video. Last week, heartbreaking videos from Silicon Valley Comic Con showed a fragile Lee struggling to remember his name or how to spell it when signing fan memorabilia.