Vicki Gunvalson, a former star of Real Housewives of Orange County, is being sued for “financial elder abuse.”
Vicki, 62, departed the Real Housewives franchise in the beginning of 2020, but she is still involved in show-related controversy and isn’t entirely cut off from it.
Vicki made headlines lately when she was accused of “financial elder abuse” in a lawsuit. Prior to this, Vicki was in the news for disparaging other RHOC celebrities on Instagram.
Why Vicki Is Being Sued by a 74-Year-Old Client?
The article was first revealed as an exclusive by InTouch Weekly on the evening of July 30, calling the file a “bombshell.” A copy of the May complaint, filed by Diane Field, was obtained by InTouch. Vicki and her business associate Ali Hashemian were named as defendants.
The publication went into great depth on the suit’s contents, which mostly concerned the plaintiff’s purported $6 million worth of assets.
Plaintiff Diane insisted that following her husband George Field’s significant injuries in a bicycle accident in 2002, she assumed control of the sizable portfolio they shared.
Diane claimed in the lawsuit that the Fields were able to live well for more than 20 years because of the couple’s stable finances:
“Diana, 74, said in her lawsuit that she and her husband George Field put 90% of their combined net worth in stocks and mutual funds with a Californian firm located in Orange County for 22 years, from 1997 to 2019.
Diane mentioned that they could sustain themselves on their work salaries and pensions without needing to withdraw money from these accounts, except for tax payments.
George passed away in October 2021, but not before his health started to deteriorate, which Diane claims made the following actions possible:
Diane stated that she would like her taxes to be reduced and that she would like to meet with Ali. She went on to say that she subsequently met with Vicki and Ali. According to the lawsuit, Diane said they offered to reduce her income taxes and boost her children’s future and potential financial capital.
At about the same time, Diane reported that George’s health had taken a ‘deep fall.'”In retrospect, Diane believes that the suffering and stress she was going through at the time helped her allow herself to trust [Vicki] and [Ali], as they seemed so genuine and to be looking out for Diane’s best interests, the lawsuit stated.”
In the wake of George’s death, Vicki and her partner Ali were allegedly subjected to pressure by the plaintiff, who also accused them of “fraudulent sales tactics,” according to documents of the lawsuit seen by RadarOnline:
Diane claimed that the reality TV star had used “fraudulent sales tactics” to persuade her to transfer funds to the Allianz 222 Indexed Annuity, claiming that “her promises that this annuity would help lower her income taxes” were the main factor in her decision.
“Apparently, Diane’s situation just became worse… Diane claimed that at some point [in 2021], she was persuaded to increase her annuity contribution.
In 2022, Diane experienced health issues and had to undergo surgery for lung cancer.
Recurring, six-figure costs that the plaintiff believes were disguised as “one-time” fees were another problem brought up in the lawsuit. The plaintiff became aware of these fees in December 2022 and they have continued this year:
“Diane said that Gunvalson [called] her’repeatedly’ to remind her of her annual payment when April rolled around this past year and another $100,000 was due again.
Nevertheless, Diane opted to reach out to Allianz, the financial services firm managing her annuity account. According to her, a representative informed her that she didn’t need to make any payments because her account actually had a surplus of funds.
The lawsuit, which seeks “unspecified damages” if successful, claims that the defendants “planned and engaged in their pattern of elder financial abuse with malice, oppression, and fraud,” according to a citation from Page Six.
Vicki hasn’t made the financial elder abuse case public, but her most recent Instagram post sparked a lot of discussion among commenters.
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