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Singer Alanis Morissette had some problems with her business manager Jonathan Schwartz. He stole US$4.8 million from Morissette and $2 million from other artists. He is now serving a six-year sentence in jail.
Al Pacino and Kenneth Starr were actually involved in a company together, but asked the latter to leave when he suspected something was off.
Uma Thurman was also targeted by Kenneth Starr. With the money he took from the cream of society, he bought himself a huge Manhattan condo. It had an indoor swimming pool and a large garden.
Actor Wesley Snipes also used Kenneth Starr to help him with his finances. It is though that in total Starr stole over US$30 million from his clients.
De Niro is a huge collector of art. The scammer Lawrence Salander got wind of this and shimmied his way into De Niro's circle. Salander sold a collection of De Niro's paintings behind his back. The actor lost around US$1 million.
Sylvester Stallone was tricked by one of the best scammers in the game. Kenneth Starr posed as a financial advisor for his A-list celebrity clients.
Kenneth Starr also swindled Scorsese. Luckily, he has not gotten away with it. Kenneth Starr is currently serving a 7.5-year sentence in jail. Still, it seems surprisingly lenient.
Iconic actor Sidney Poitier was also subject to Charles Agee Atkins' bogus tax shelter scheme. It became the largest tax fraud in US history at the time. According to the Los Angeles Times, there were more than US$1 billion in fictitious losses.
Former pro tennis player John McEnroe was also scammed by Lawrence Salander. Overall, Salander extracted US$120 million from A-listers. He is now serving a prison sentence.
Unfortunately, Sting had some bad luck with his financial advisor of 15 years. Keith Moore stole over US$8 million by saying he was investing in small companies. There have been rumors that Sting is now in financial trouble.
In 2007, Sutherland was trying to invest a huge amount of money into the cattle business. He trusted Michael Wayne Carr to do it for him. However, the latter ended up stealing around US$869,000.
Warhol was lied to by Charles Agee Atkins, a man who gave advice on tax. He roped Warhol into giving him his money in order to put it into a tax shelter scheme.
Cook was betrayed by his own family. His half-brother and sister-in-law managed his comedy business and so secretly stole US$12 million from Cook. As soon as he found out, they pleaded guilty, paid back the money, and went to prison.
Jennifer Aniston was also hit by the beauty consultant. Perez's method was to steal their credit card info and then go on a spree. When the police found out, she was sentenced to house arrest and probation.
Nicholson was a target of the famed Hollywood art con artist Todd Michael Volpe. Volpe posed as an art dealer to the stars, such as Barbra Streisand. Another was Jack Nicholson, lost the most at US$600,000–and maybe some more on shady dealings.
Tiger Woods had his identity stolen by Anthony Lemar Taylor. When Taylor came across Woods' driving license, he began to use it to bill things to the real Tiger Woods. He spent US$17,000 of Woods' money on TVs and stereos. The police easily tracked him down and sentenced him to a whopping 200 years in prison (due to California's 'three strikes and out' rule).
Also a target of their manager Lou Pearlman, NSYNC lost a lot of money. Overall, Pearlman stole over US$300 million from his bands and investors. He was sued and died while serving a 25-year sentence in prison.
In 2010, many A-listers started using the same beauty consultant in Beverly Hills. However, Maria Gabriela Perez was not to be trusted. She stole US$280,000 of Liv Tyler's money.
Most of the major boybands of the late '90s were all managed by Lou Pearlman (1954-2016). He ran a Ponzi scheme that allowed him to steal from clients and investors.
Hathaway was tricked by the one she loved the most. Her ex-boyfriend Raffaello Follieri posed as an official from the Vatican. He told investors they would get property from the Roman Catholic Church. He stole US$2.4 million from Hathaway. Although he served a 4.5-year sentence, he is now an investor again.
Billy Joel was also burned by the people closest to him. His friend, manager, ex-brother-in-law, and godfather to his daughter was an absolute thief. He stole US$30 million of Joel's money.
Stiller was also sucked into Dana Giacchetto's trick. The police caught on to Giacchetto when he lost almost US$10 million of his clients' money.
The host of the English TV show 'Deal or No Deal' was extremely unlucky. Lloyds Banking Group had a side scheme that sucked money from small businesses. Edmond's entertainment business collapsed and he lost tens of millions.
Sources: (Yahoo! Finance) (InvestmentNews)
See also: Celebs who died broke
Cox was also subject to another financial advisor scam. In the 1990s, Dana Giacchetto (1962-2016) posed as a stockbroker to A-list celebrities.
DiCaprio was also on Giacchetto's target list. When everyone found out, he was taken to court and sentenced to prison. He was released in 2003.
Rimes had to deal with her own father stealing money from her. Her mother and her took him to court for siphoning off US$7 million of her earnings. Even though he lost, they still have a pretty good relationship.
Spielberg was one of the hardest hit by Bernie Madoff's scheme. Using money from new investors to pay off old investors, Madoff's estimated fraud added up to a startling US$65 billion!
Malkovich was also on Bernie Madoff's scam list. In 2009, when Madoff was caught, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed. He died in prison in mid-April 2021.
Kevin Bacon was one of the unlucky stars who got scammed by the biggest con artist around, Bernie Madoff (1938-2021) in what The Economist called the "con of the century," estimated at around US$65 billion. The actor opened up on the October 10 episode of the 'SmartLess' podcast about the experience of losing "most" of his fortune when the scheme collapsed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
"We had most of our money in Madoff," Bacon said. "There's obvious life lessons there—if something is too good to be true, it's too good to be true." He added that they've managed to recover "a portion" of what was lost, and a lawsuit that could help victims recoup their losses. The Madoff Victim Fund reports on its website that it has now returned more than US$4 billion to over 40,000 victims.
"Certainly, you get angry and stuff, but I have to say, there were a lot of people who were much worse off than we were – old people, people whose retirement funds were completely decimated," Bacon continued. "So there’s always going to be somebody that’s going to have it a lot worse than you." He counted his health, his family's health, and their ability to continue working among their blessings, and noted with a good sense of humor, "I think people will be not happy to hear me whining about money."
Usain Bolt is the most decorated sprinter of all time, winning eight Olympic gold medals, so it's not surprising that he's amassed a huge fortune, or that people might try to scam him out of it. On January 11, Bolt’s financial team noticed something odd in his account with Jamaican investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL): there was only US$2,000 in accounts that previously held more than US$10 million, reports Sports Brief. Bolt's manager said the athlete has been with SSL for over a decade.
Apparently he's not the only case, as Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission is investigating over 30 other alleged victims with a total loss of over US$1.2 billion, as reported by the Jamaica Observer. Apparently a long-time SSL employee is at the heart of the potential fraud which has been progressing over a decade.
No one can blame celebrities for being targets of fraud. When you are famous, everyone is trying to get their finger in the pie. It could be your manager, your family–anyone!
Time and time again, celebs have been roped into Ponzi schemes, duped by their employees, and more. Who knows how many cases have not been discovered yet? Nevertheless, these are all stars who recognized the trickery and took the con artists to court. From Jack Nicholson to the Backstreet Boys, click through to discover which stars got swindled.
Stars who got scammed
Usain Bolt loses millions of dollars with investment firm in potential fraud
CELEBRITY Entertainment
Usain Bolt is the most decorated sprinter of all time, winning eight Olympic gold medals, so it's not surprising that he's amassed a huge fortune, or that people might try to scam him out of it. On January 11, Bolt’s financial team noticed something odd in his account with Jamaican investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL): there was only US$2,000 in accounts that previously held more than US$10 million, reports Sports Brief. Bolt's manager said the athlete has been with SSL for over a decade.
Apparently he's not the only case, as Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission is investigating over 30 other alleged victims with a total loss of over US$1.2 billion, as reported by the Jamaica Observer. Apparently a long-time SSL employee is at the heart of the potential fraud which has been progressing over a decade.
No one can blame celebrities for being targets of fraud. When you are famous, everyone is trying to get their finger in the pie. It could be your manager, your family–anyone!
Time and time again, celebs have been roped into Ponzi schemes, duped by their employees, and more. Who knows how many cases have not been discovered yet? Nevertheless, these are all stars who recognized the trickery and took the con artists to court. From Jack Nicholson to the Backstreet Boys, click through to discover which stars got swindled.