Alanis Morisette. Photo courtesy of Rolling Stone.
Summary: Singer Alanis Morissette is suing her former business manager for lying and fraud.
You Outta Know not to steal from Alanis Morissette. The ‘90s singing icon has reportedly sued her former business manager for stealing and lying to her for years.
In a lawsuit filed yesterday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Morissette said Jonathan Schwartz of GSO Business Management embezzled at least $4.7 million from her accounts. The money manager handled her finances from 2009 and 2016, and his job was to pay bills on her behalf and oversea her investment accounts. She fired him in March when he did not respond in a timely manner to her requests for information.
Morissette then hired Howard Grossman who noticed 116 suspicious deposits from her account to Schwartz’s. Those transfers totaled to more than $4.7 million, and the complaint said there were no documents explaining them and that Morisette had not authorized them.
The complaint said Schwartz was confronted about the $4.7 million, and after changing his story numerous times, he admitted he used the money for “illegal marijuana” businesses.
Morissette also said Schwartz gave her bad advice. He insisted her finances were in order and convinced her to turn down gigs because she was so financially secure. Morissette said that she learned later that was not accurate.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Morissette is suing Schwartz and GSO Business for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and negligence. She is seeking $15 million in damages.
GSO is looking to fire Schwarz, a partner, and they have filed a lawsuit to judicially expel him. They are also seeking punitive damages and want him to return an advance of $588,000. The company filed their suit on Monday after they investigated Grossman’s complaints.
“The investigation revealed that Mr. Schwartz was burning through money to sustain a lavish lifestyle, including a $50,000 vacation to Bora Bora and an outstanding gambling debt of $75,000 at a Casino in the Bahamas,” the lawsuit said. “He also owes the U.S. government a substantial sum for unpaid taxes.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that GSO has also responded to some of Morissette’s claims. They said members of the firm besides Schwartz told her she was over budget, and that she had a separate manager for her investment accounts.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter and The Wall Street Journal