Alanis Morissette’s former manager Jonathan Schwartz admitted in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday to stealing $4.8 million from the singer and $2 million more from other clients, BBC reports.
Schwartz and Morissette worked together from 2009 to 2016. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Schwartz’s relationship with Morissette included “collecting income, managing investment accounts and paying bills on her behalf.” Morissette sued Schwartz for fraud in May of 2016, requesting over $15 million in damages. The singer’s suit claimed that Schwartz and the company he worked for “concealed distributions from Morissette, convincing her that she was in tremendous financial shape when, in fact, they were draining her assets and leading her on a road that could have led to financial ruin.”
Howard Grossman, Schwartz’s replacement, found evidence of over 100 removals from the singer’s accounts to Schwartz’s. According to the suit, Schwartz used the money to invest in “one or more illegal marijuana ‘grow’ business.”
“When she asked him if she was over budget, he would insist that things were ‘fine,’ that she had ‘nothing to worry about,’ and that she and her future grandkids were ‘set for life,’” the complaint continues. “His reasoning was always that she didn’t need to work so hard because she was so financially secure.”
BBC reports that Schwartz, appearing in court February 1st, could face four to six years in prison.
