Former Disney star accused of elder abuse and fraud

by: Christine Samra

An elderly Southern California couple is suing former Disney star Erik von Detten and Rosland Capital, a precious metals company, for elder abuse and fraud.

On May 11, 97-year-old Norman Greenberg and his 85-year-old wife, Sheila, of La Jolla, filed a lawsuit against von Detten and Rosland Capital LLC in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to USA Today. The lawsuit notes that the “Brink!” actor is a broker for the company.

TMZ broke the story on Tuesday morning.

The couple claims that around the summer of 2020, they reached out to the company after seeing television ads that “created real concern for the safety of their wealth,” docs obtained by E! explained.

“Rosland’s marketing campaigns are and were, at all times relevant,” the lawsuit said. “(They were) designed in large part to appeal to senior citizens through their television and internet advertising, direct mail brochures, and high-pressure boiler-room type sales practices.”

When the Greenbergs reached out to Rosland, they were connected with von Detten. During their conversations, they revealed they didn’t know much about gold and had over $2 million in their retirement accounts.

“Von Detten acknowledged that he understood their goals and their lack of knowledge and that he possessed sufficient experience and expertise and could help,” the filing reads. “He earned their trust and confidence such that they agreed to accept his recommendations without question.”

The couple said they placed two orders for Lady Liberty gold coins, which were about $1 million each. Instead of being delivered to them, the items were sent to Delaware Depository for storage, which led to fees from both companies to store the coins and to maintain the account.

Court documents stated that while they never saw the first shipment, this happened to them again when von Detten encouraged them to invest another $1 million in coins.

The transactions took place between October 2020 and August 2021. It wasn’t until 2025, when the couple investigated the worth on their own, that they realized they paid more than what the coins were actually worth. The Greenbergs said they spent over $2.1 million on gold coins only worth $1.3 million.

“The prices Defendants charged Plaintiffs in every instance were not fair and reasonable but were instead grossly in excess of the market value for each order at the time each order was executed,” the lawsuit explained.

The filing continued by saying Rosland and von Detten misled the two “into believing that they were paying a fair price relative to the things they bought and for the reasons they bought them.”

“Instead of helping them protect their hard-earned wealth, Defendants helped themselves to it,” the lawsuit claims. “In addition, Defendants committed financial elder abuse because they took, secreted, appropriated, obtained or retained Plaintiffs’ money with the intent to defraud.”

The couple is requesting a jury trial and is seeking at least $900,000 in damages. They also want to recover their losses and punitive damages. In addition to claims of elder abuse and fraud, the couple is accusing the defendants of constructive fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and conversion.

In a statement to E! News, Rosland Capital said they “cannot comment directly on the lawsuit,” but continued by offering some information on what’s next in the lawsuit.

“However, we can state that as counsel for Rosland Capital LLC as debtor in possession, we have worked with the Creditors Committee to create a liquidating trust which will have the power to investigate the financial history of the company to provide answers to the claims of the Greenbergs and other investors.”

Von Detten hasn’t publicly addressed the lawsuit. KTLA 5 has reached out to his team.

USA Today reports that the case has been assigned to Judge Bradley S. Phillips, and court records show a case management conference is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 8:30 a.m. in Santa Monica. 

In July, two months after the Greenbergs filed their lawsuit, Roseland Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Von Detten, 44, famously starred opposite Anne Hathaway in 2001’s “The Princess Diaries.” He also starred in the Disney Channel television movie “Brink!” and the Disney Channel series “So Weird.”

He voiced the character of Sid in 1995’s “Toy Story” and later returned to the franchise to voice an older Sid in a cameo in 2010’s “Toy Story 3” before he stepped away from acting. He joined Rosland Capital in 2018.

His latest acting role is listed as Mark in the 2024 TV movie “My Acting Coach Nightmare.”

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Former Disney star accused of elder abuse and fraud