Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kathy Ireland, who later graced the cover of Forbes as a brand mogul, has accused her former business manager of plundering millions of dollars from her and leaving her deeply in debt.
Through her licensing company, Kathy Ireland Worldwide, the former supermodel has put her name on a Kmart clothing line and a host of homewares, including windows, ceiling fans and furniture. Forbes once estimated her company’s value at $420 million.
But Ireland and her husband were defrauded of their home equity and life insurance policies and were forced to sell their home without significant savings, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Santa Barbara.
“As they believed, no wealth could secure their retirement and their children’s futures,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, defendants’ misconduct was followed by massive debt, misuse of credit, secret loans, and missing funds.”
Ireland and her husband sued Jason Winters and Erik Sterling, a gay couple who had managed their affairs for more than 35 years. They also sued another couple, Stephen Roseberry and Jon Carrasco, who worked for Casey Ireland Universal and were adopted by Winters and Sterling as adults, according to the indictment. They also sued Brittany Duncan, who is listed in business filings as the current CEO of Casey Ireland Worldwide.
Ireland received no wages from the company, the complaint said. Instead, Sterling and Winters will pay her fees. Her husband, Greg Olson, was a doctor who later became a commercial fisherman. He and Ireland trusted Winters and Sterling almost like family, giving them power of attorney and relying on them for investments.
“Winters and Sterling told Kathy she was extremely wealthy,” the lawsuit states. “They told them they never needed to worry.”
According to the complaint, Ireland became aware of her true financial situation when she tried to lend her son money for a down payment on a house. Sterling and Winters became “evasive” and said they needed six months to liquidate her investment, the lawsuit said.
Ireland and Olson eventually realized the defendants had taken out loans and then used some or all of the funds for their own purposes, the lawsuit alleges.
“In short, Defendants treated Plaintiffs as their work horse and piggy bank while scheming to fund their own lifestyles,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit says the damages could run into tens of millions of dollars and possibly as much as $100 million.
“What we’ve discovered so far is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Jill Basinger, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “Kathy’s managers used their positions of trust to enrich themselves while continually misleading Kathy about her and her family’s financial health. The bill is due. Sterling and Winters will have to answer for their actions.”
In a social media post last October, Winters alluded to the altercation, writing that the Universal company “suddenly came to a standstill, causing chaos.” He did not name Ireland directly but said the “relationship” was not genuine.
“The ‘I will always love you’ behavior continued for decades while we drank Jim Jones-flavored Kool-Aid,” he wrote. “We should have seen the signs. But we didn’t. We were deceived. It’s easy to be deceived by people you trust.”
He said he had received threatening letters from lawyers but was seeking a “peaceful solution.” In part, he attributes the conflict to “millionaires’ refusal to stop living like billionaires and preventing others from getting a fair paycheck.”
“Did you hear anything about it?” he continued. “Keep your reactions in check until you learn the truth.”
Winters once worked for Elizabeth Taylor, and in 2010 there were rumors that she planned to marry her. Taylor denied the rumors and died the following year at the age of 79. Winters has also worked with Liza Minnelli and Art Garfunkel.
Ireland has long publicly celebrated her deep Christian faith. The lawsuit accuses Winters and other defendants of taking advantage of her loyalty and integrity.
“The brand she built through tireless work, travel, public appearances, licensing and faith-based leadership was touted as an empire,” the lawsuit states.
Now she’s left to wonder how much of that success was real and how much was a sham, the lawsuit says.
“This is a betrayal at the most fundamental level,” Basinger said.
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