Alanis Morissette’s manager admits to stealing almost $5m from singer
Alanis Morissette’s former business manager has admitted to stealing more than $7m from the singer and other stars.
US prosecutors have confirmed Jonathan Schwartz has been charged with fraud over claims he transferred the ‘Ironic’ hitmaker’s money into his own accounts.
Initially, Schwartz told investigators he had invested the cash in an illegal marijuana-growing business.
But in a court room in Los Angeles on Wednesday (18.01.17), he confessed to stealing as much as $4.8 million from Morissette and more than $2 million from other celebrity clients, none of whom have been named.
As a result, Schwartz – who handled the chart-topping musician’s finances between 2009 and 2016 – is set for a jail sentence of between four and six years, assuming he is convicted on criminal charges.
According to his lawyer Nathan Hochman, Schwartz had co-operated with the investigation and accepts full responsibility for his actions.
Back in 2016, meanwhile, Alanis sued her former business manager and his former company GSO for $15m in damages.
The 42-year-old star alleged that he transferred money to his own accounts without her permission.
The allegation prompted an internal investigation at GSO, which subsequently prompted the company to reveal that Schwartz had, in fact, been using the money to sustain an extravagant lifestyle.
The firm said it was "shocked" by what it had discovered, but Alanis later dropped the lawsuit when she reached a settlement.
The situation only came to light when Alanis appointed a new financial manager, who quickly noticed there were major discrepancies between her earnings and her balance.
Schwartz – who was in charge of collecting revenue and structuring bill payments – is poised to appear in court to face the criminal charges on February 1.
