Stan Lee sues ex-business manager for siphoning off millions of dollars

Comic legend Stan Lee has filed a case against his former manager Jerardo Olivarez for business fraud.

The 92-year-old former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics has sued Olivarez after an in-depth investigative piece by The Hollywood Reporter about an alleged elder abuse and a sour feud over his estate came to light.

As per the complaint, filed on Saturday by his attorney Jonathan Freund in LA County Superior Court, Lee alleges Olivarez is one of many "unscrupulous businessmen, sycophants and opportunists" who are seeking to take advantage of him after his wife, Joan Lee's death in July last year.

Freund writes in the complaint, "While Lee was in great distress over this severe loss, Olivarez... Fired his banker of 26 years. They also fired his lawyers of many years and caused approximately $4.6 million dollars to be transferred out of Lee's Merrill Lynch Account without Lee's authorisation."

The former manager, who was introduced to Lee by his daughter JC, then convinced the veteran writer to hand over the power of attorney to him, as per the complaint.

Olivarez also allegedly tricked Lee into loaning $300,000 to a fake non-profit organisation dedicated to racial peace, bought a $850,000 condo in West Hollywood without his approval, siphoned out almost $1.4 million from Lee's accounts through a series of wire transfers and used his position as a fiduciary to modify Lee's will.

He is being sued on the charges of conversion, fraud, financial abuse of an elder and misappropriation of his name.

Olivarez is yet to respond to a request for comment on the complaint.