Actor Randy Quaid filed a lawsuit against his “trusted advisors” on Monday alleging that they defrauded him out of millions of dollars during a 20-year period.
Actor Randy Quaid filed a lawsuit against his “trusted advisors” on Monday alleging that they defrauded him out of millions of dollars during a 20-year period.
Mr. Quaid, who filed the lawsuit on his own behalf with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims the advisers stole many of his paychecks, including $600,000 in royalty payments from his performance in the Oscar-nominated movie “Brokeback Mountain.”
According to court documents posted online by Radaronline.com, Mr. Quaid alleges that his business managers, entertainment attorneys and agents schemed to use his salaries and profits to fraudulently finance estate loans for their own enrichment and for the benefit of City National Bank.
Mr. Quaid, who received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in 1973's “The Last Detail,” named City National Bank in the lawsuit in addition to several other individuals independently and those who work for other companies.
A spokeswoman for the bank, Debora Vrana, said that it has a longstanding policy not to comment on continuing litigation. She indicated that City National was aware of the lawsuit.
Mr. Quaid says in the lawsuit that his brother, actor Dennis Quaid, is involved as part of what the complaint calls a longtime scam to steal his money. Randy Quaid says he's no longer receiving any payments for work he completed and that he had no knowledge of loans taken out in his name.
“I would like nothing more than to rip away my assets from these scammers and tax cheats, or as I refer to them, my “trusted advisors” and make them pay for the abuse they have heaped on me and my wife over these past 20 years, literally forcing us into servitude to finance their investments and enrich their lives while systematically destroying ours,” Mr. Quaid said in the court documents.
He is not seeking a specified amount. Instead, he indicates in the documents that he wants, “my freedom, my rights, my royalties and my true wealth returned to me.”
Mr. Quaid's suit is one of the most recently filed by a celebrity against their financial advisers. A year ago, actor Nicolas Cage filed suit against his certified public accountant, claiming the adviser put his money into highly speculative and risky real estate investments.
