The dispute between television talk show host Wendy Williams and her former financial adviser at Wells Fargo Advisors got a jolt late last month when the New York Post reported that Williams' former attorney had taken a verbal shot at the adviser, Lori Schiller.
LaShawn Thomas, who formerly represented Williams, claimed to the Post that Williams was "left to die" by Schiller and her former business manager, according to an Aug. 26 article.
“The real issue is that Wells Fargo, through their adviser, refused to grant Wendy access to her own accounts, this includes the right to check her balance,” Thomas said, according to the Post.
"No bank should have the authority to do that," said Thomas, who reportedly was responding to a recent online article that said Williams' son had misused her American Express credit card. "No one attempted to gain access to any of Wendy’s accounts. The Wells Fargo adviser and [her former manager] were the only people with access. They left Wendy to die.”
The dispute between Wells Fargo and Williams has been going on since the winter. In February, Wells Fargo claimed in a filing with the New York Supreme Court that Williams was incapacitated and needed a guardianship, and in May a financial guardian was appointed to oversee her money, according to reports.
A spokesperson for Wells Fargo Advisors declined to comment. LaShawn Thomas did not return a call on Tuesday morning to comment. It was not clear who currently represents Williams in the dispute.
Schiller has been registered with Wells Fargo Advisors since 2017 and is based in its midtown Manhattan branch, according to her BrokerCheck profile. She is a wirehouse veteran and has previously worked at UBS, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.
In March, Williams went on Instagram and claimed that Wells Fargo and Schiller were blocking her access to her cash as part of the guardianship battle.
Bitter public disputes involving celebrities and the control of their finances have made headlines of late; Britney Spears’ fight to control her finances led to the #FreeBritney movement.
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