Britney Spears' Father Jamie Faces Legal Battle With Former Security Member Who Accused Him of Spying on Pop Star

Jamie Spears faces additional legal trouble from a former member of Britney Spears‘ security team.

Alex Vlasov – an employee who worked for Black Box Security, the 41-year-old pop star’s former security company – made a startling allegation that Jamie was abusing his powers as conservator by spying on his daughter through her personal phone calls and text messages. 

The allegations were first revealed in the 2021 documentary The New York Times Presents: Controlling Britney Spears. Similar claims were corroborated by a former FBI agent and private investigator in January 2022, according to court documents filed by Britney‘s lawyer Mathew Rosengart.

Alex is now accusing Jamie of inappropriate behavior in an ongoing legal battle and is asking a judge to sanction or fine him $10,000.

According to legal documents obtained by Radar Online, Alex accused Jamie of “abuse and misuses of the discovery process” after he was subpoenaed for additional information. He further claimed that the Spears patriarch is acting to “punish” him for speaking out.

“Mr. Spears and his counsel have improperly used this proceeding to engage in a scorched earth litigation campaign against Britney Spears and now a third-party witness, Alexander Vlasov, who courageously exposed Mr. Spears’s wrongdoing,” the document reads. “Mr. Spears’ goals appear to have been three-fold: (i) attempt to embarrass and intimidate his daughter; and (ii) generate wasteful legal expenses that he apparently seeks payment of from her estate, while (iii) improperly using this proceeding to harass and punish those who have led to Mr. Spears’ disgraceful removal as conservator. This is litigation vengeance of the highest order. It is improper.”

This is not the first time Jamie has been accused of improper behavior in court.

If you missed it, Jamie opened up about a variety of topics in a new interview, breaking his silence for the first time after his daughter was freed from her conservatorship.

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Britney Spears' Father Jamie Faces Legal Battle With Former Security Member Who Accused Him of Spying on Pop Star

91-year-old who wanted to ‘stay alive’ dies after being removed from life-support

January 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Arline Lester, the 91-year-old woman from Long Island whose son recorded a video of her pleading for her life, died yesterday after being removed from her ventilator and feeding tube.

The killing of Arline Lester was shrouded in secrecy after judge Julianne Capetola allegedly issued a secret gag order forbidding the parties, attorneys or witnesses from communicating any details of the case.

The gag order, which was never made public, was reported to have been issued out of concern for the privacy rights of Arline Lester, but sources close to the family tell LifeSiteNews that the gag order was simply a way to cover up the inevitable killing of a woman against her express wish to live. Attempts, including in-person visits to the court of Judge Capetola by the Personhood Alliance to obtain the gag order in order to verify its existence, content, and scope were unsuccessful.

LifeSiteNews can also confirm that the secret gag order was used to threaten pro-life organizations such as LifeSiteNews and the Personhood Alliance who had re-posted the video recorded by Ed Lester and first published by local NY media outlets. Neither the NY Post nor the Personhood Alliance took down the distressing video, not having been able to confirm the existence or scope of the alleged gag order. Parties, witnesses and attorneys related to the case that were contacted refused to comment for fear of the secret gag order.

Family sources, who refused to give any details of the court proceedings and who requested anonymity for fear of being held in contempt of court, told LifeSiteNews that Arline Lester died yesterday after having her respirator removed while being put on aggressive "palliative sedation," a term that refers to aggressive pain medication that inevitably leads to the death of the patient.

The case of Arlene Lester is especially alarming at a time when NY's Democrat control legislature is considering openly legalizing assisted suicide. Many pro-lifers worry that if the courts are willing to enforce an old "living will" against the express wishes of an elderly woman who was conscious enough to orally communicate them, then what guarantee will there be that people who change their mind at the last moment about assisted suicide will have their right to life respected and protected?

For the last weeks, Arline Lester's two sons had engaged in an acrimonious battle in the Nassau County Supreme Court over two competing "living wills". The first will, signed decades ago, directed that no life support be administered in case she was incapacitated. The second will was drafted recently after Arline suffered medical complications for which she required the insertion of a feeding tube and ventilator at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan.

The son who was taking care of Arline, Edward, told ABC7 NY that his mother had asked him for help to revoke her "living will" seventeen times after which he helped her hire a specialized attorney who drafted the new living will. In other comments to News12, Edward stated that "My mother's perception of a living will was, 'If I'm a vegetable, if I'm brain dead and I'm laying there...pull the plug,' but that's not the situation we have now." To support his claim that his mother's clear wish was to live, Ed released a video where Arline clearly communicates that she did not want to die, but instead wanted to live.

As the NY Post reported, the other brother, Kyle Lester initiated the lawsuit asking a judge in Nassau County Supreme Court to declare him Arline's sole guardian, acknowledging that he hoped to take her off life support — but maintaining this is what their mother wanted.

Once the dramatic video of Arline mouthing the words "I want to live" was published by the NY Post and other publications, the court issued the secret gag order, prohibiting any of the parties, witnesses or attorneys from sharing details of the case with the press.

From that point forward, the repeated attempts from the Personhood Alliance to be shown the gag order or be given any information on the status of the case or medical condition were denied by Judge Julianne Capitola's court.

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91-year-old who wanted to ‘stay alive’ dies after being removed from life-support 

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Son Pleads With NY Court: Let My Mother Live

91-year-old LI woman mouths ‘I want to live’ on video amid legal battle 

Son Pleads With NY Court: Let My Mother Live

by Sarah Quale

NEW YORK (ChurchMilitant.com) - Two brothers in New York are battling for the fate of their mother — one to saveher life, and the other, to hasten her death.

New video evidence and a handwritten plea reveal 91-year-old Arline Lester of Long Island, New York wants to live, but that decision is now in the hands of a judge.

Despite using a respirator and feeding tube, Lester said in the video presented to the Nassau County Court by her son Edward that she desires to continue living. Edward is battling his brother, Kyle, who says his mother's living will, drafted in the 1990s, expresses her desire not to be kept alive by artificial means.

Kyle brought the case before the court to ask for sole guardianship over his mother so he can have Arline's feeding tube and respirator disconnected, which would lead to her starvation and suffocation.

But Edward has produced recent evidence that, he says, supersedes his mother's original living will and shows her health improving. And Arline herself has expressed clearly that she wants to live.

In a November video recorded at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, Arline mouthed the words "I want to stay alive," and nodded her agreement with several life-affirming statements made by Edward.



Before Nassau County Court Judge Julianne Capetola issued a gag order on Monday, forbidding the brothers from speaking to the media about the case, a family member indicated that Arline "is able to communicate her wants and needs through shaking her head."But on New Year's Day, her 91st birthday, Arline regained her speech.

Another video, filmed over the weekend, was made available to the Personhood Alliance before the gag order went into effect. The video shows Arline alert and speaking on her own. When asked if she is in pain, she shakes her head no and clearly says, "Thank you."

Edward told a local ABC News reporter, "You can have respiratory failure and improve and be back to normal. You can have a feeding tube and improve and be back to normal."

Edward explained that his mother recently had her leg amputated, but that amputation is not fatal.

"She wants to live, and we're here to see that she does," he emphasized. He also told the reporter that his mother made him her power of attorney in November and "wrote 17 times on a piece of paper that she wants to revoke that 1991 living will."

Arline was also recently evaluated as mentally capable of making her own decisions. But her son Kyle is petitioning the court to grant him sole guardianship over his mother in order to withdraw life-sustaining nutrition and hydration and cause her early death.

Edward and Kyle, along with other witnesses for both sides of this case, are being heard during trial all this week in Nassau County Court.

The Personhood Alliance has set up a fundraiser, using an ethical alternative to Go Fund Me, to raise money for Arline's legal defense.

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Son Pleads With NY Court: Let My Mother Live

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91-year-old LI woman mouths ‘I want to live’ on video amid legal battle

91-year-old LI woman mouths ‘I want to live’ on video amid legal battle

By Israel Salas-Rodriguez and Laura Italiano



She can only mouth words and nod her head, but a bed-bound, 91-year-old Long Island woman has made herself clear — she does not want to be taken off the machines that keep her alive.

At least that’s according to her eldest son, who is set to face off against his brother in Nassau County court Monday, arguing he wants to keep their mother on a ventilator and feeding tube, while his sibling hopes to pull the plug.

“The bottom line is, my brother wants to kill her, and I want her alive,” Edward Lester, 62, told The Post last week from mom Arline Lester’s room at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan.

As part of the heartbreaking legal tug of war, Edward submitted video he says was taken in November showing their mother even mouthing the words, “I want to live.’’

Arline, who taught math for 25 years at PS 125 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, has been physically incapacitated since suffering a string of circulation and breathing problems over the past 11 months, Edward said.

His brother, Kyle, 58, a lawyer and CPA from Dix Hills, has asked a judge in Nassau County Supreme Court to declare him her sole guardian, acknowledging that he hopes to take her off life support — but maintaining this is what their mother would want.

In court papers, Kyle accuses Edward of keeping their mom alive against her will so he can stay in her Long Beach home and “plunder” her assets, including the total $5,400 she collects every month from Social Security and her public-school pension.

“Sadly, it appears that Edward Lester is keeping [the mother] alive so that he can continue to wrongfully take her Social Security, Pension and monies she has in the bank,” the younger brother alleges in a Dec. 3 filing.

Kyle has requested that the hospital take his mother off life support in accordance with a 1999 living will, in which she’d asked not to be kept alive by machines if she ever became seriously ill, documents show.

“It is respectfully requested that the hospital abide by Ms. Lester’s wishes and cease all treatments which only serve to prolong her dying,” Kyle’s lawyers said in a Nov. 12 letter to Mount Sinai, which is part of the court case.

But Edward’s lawyer, Jonathan Rosenberg, told The Post, “They want her dead, regardless of what her own wishes are.”

Edward contends in court papers that his mother has clearly changed her mind since 1999. He also denies he has a financial stake in keeping his mother alive.

In fact, should her health improve enough that she can be moved from the hospital into a nursing home, as he hopes, her income and estate — and therefore both sons’ inheritance, worth approximately a quarter million dollars to each of them — will soon be gobbled up by nursing-home costs, Edward argues.

Arline Lester

He contends that he gave up his career in Denver as a mortgage and real-estate broker to come back East and care for her.

In his mother’s “I want to live” video, filmed Nov. 7 from her hospital bed, Edward asks Arline, “You have no leg, right?” referring to a recent amputation of her left leg due to circulatory problems. She nods yes.

“You understand that?” he asks.

Again, she nods yes.

“You have a feeding tube in you, you understand that, right? You have a tracheotomy, you have the thing breathing for you?” Edward asks his mom.

His mother nods yes each time.

Edward then urges her to mouth the words, “I want to stay alive,’’ just to be absolutely clear. She does.

“With everything wrong with you, do you still want to stay alive?” he asks again, gently.

Yes, she nods.

Six days after the video was taped, on Nov. 13, Lester executed a living will, in the presence of an elder-law lawyer, that states, “I wish to be treated aggressively for all conditions” and directs doctors “to continue to prolong my life as long as possible within the limits of generally acceptable health care standards.”

On Nov. 15, “The hospital staff conducted a competency hearing” administered by a psychiatrist, and “she was determined to be competent,” Edward’s court papers assert.

Kyle Lester declined comment to The Post on Sunday.

Edward insists that there’s still a chance their mother’s health will improve.

Two weeks ago, a resident doctor at Mount Sinai, Dr. Varun Devaraj, told Edward that his mother “will squeeze his fingers when told, and shake her head yes or no to respond to questions,” his court papers say.

Devaraj “states that her actual prognosis is good and he is not discounting her ‘eventual improvement,” the papers say, including the possibility she could be weaned off the breathing machine, as she has been twice before.

“I’m not giving up,” Edward said.

“I know there’s no happy ending to this story, I know what time it is,” the son said. “But I think as a matter of fairness, this woman is a tough woman from Brooklyn, and everybody deserves to live their life out.”

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91-year-old LI woman mouths ‘I want to live’ on video amid legal battle

Caretaker of elderly lotto winner loses power of attorney

The unlicensed caregiver of elderly lotto millionaire Charles Hairston no longer has control over the 88-year-old Paso Robles resident's fortune or his medical care.

File Photo By Jayson Mellom

MONEY MATTERS A SLO County judge appointed a third party to manage the care and finances of lotto winner Charles Hairston, 88, of Paso Robles, stripping his former caregiver of her power of attorney over his lotto fortune. Hairston won $78 million at this convenience store in 2011. 

A SLO County Superior Court judge revoked Tiffany Borba's power of attorney as part of a contentious conservatorship case and appointed a third party to manage what's left of the $78 million lottery award Charles won in 2011, according to court records.

Charles asked Borba, whom he reportedly met while she was working at Scolari's Market in Paso Robles, to be his caregiver in 2012, and signed over power of attorney to her in 2015. He spent some of his winnings on gifts for Borba, including the purchase of a $819,000 home and a 2016 Porsche.

Charles' nephew Eddie Hairston initiated court proceedings to appoint a conservator for Charles in 2017, claiming that Borba failed to properly take care of him, isolated him from family and friends, and took advantage of him for financial gain. Court records show that Debora Trout, a licensed professional fiduciary, was appointed as the conservator of Charles' estate on Jan. 12.

As part of the case, Eddie raised concerns about Borba's handling of Charles' finances. Court documents reference large amounts of money being moved between three bank accounts set up outside of the trust created for the lotto winnings.

October 2017 bank statements filed as part of the court case show the transfer of $10,000 from one account in Charles' name to another. That second account, also in Charles' name, showed more than $8,721 in funds were withdrawn or debited in a 30-day period. A third account in both Charles' and Borba's name showed a balance of more than $92,000 between September and October 2017, with withdrawals totaling $3,510 for the same period.

Herbert Stroh, an attorney who represented Charles, also raised concerns about the accounts in a January court filing seeking to compel Borba to turn over accounting documents. Stroh's review of bank statements from some of the accounts showed "significant ATM cash withdrawals," according to the filing.

"There are significant outflows of large dollar amounts during 2017," he wrote.

Eddie's attorney, Brighton Hushing-Kline, said that the money in those accounts came from the lotto winnings trust, and questioned how much of the withdrawn money was used to pay for expenses related to Charles' care. He believes that Borba used it for her own day-to-day expenses.

"We've have long been suspicious of potential mismanagement," Hushing-Kline said. "She's not provided any explanation whatsoever."

In a written declaration submitted as part of the case, Borba denied allegations that she mistreated Charles. Meanwhile, she has enlisted the services of the Irvine-based law firm of Wallin and Klarich. Attorney Greg Balderrama confirmed that Borba was a client, but said it was not in relation to the conservatorship case.

"We are representing her in a very limited capacity," he said.

Balderrama declined to comment further on why he's representing Borba, but a March 26 letter to Eddie stated that Balderrama's firm was retained to represent Borba in a "pre-filing criminal investigation." According to the firm's website, a pre-filing investigation "generally involves a law enforcement agency analyzing and scrutinizing the facts of your case to determine whether the police agency can recommend that prosecutors file charges against you."

As of April 5, both the Paso Robles Police Department and the SLO County District Attorney's Office said they were not conducting any criminal investigations involving Borba.

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Caretaker of elderly lotto winner loses power of attorney

Elderly Paso Robles lottery winner is the center of a legal battle concerning his welfare and fortune

Court case includes allegations of neglect and isolation from friends and family

–Charles Hairston bought a winning lottery at One Stop gas station at 703 Spring Street in Paso Robles in 2011 that was worth $78 million. According to reports and court records, Hairston was generous with his winnings including paying off his nephew, Eddie Hairston’s, mortgage and gifting his caretaker a $819,000 home and a Porsche. In a written declaration to San Luis Obispo Superior Court, Ronald Chaisson, an officer of Rabobank in charge of Hairston’s trust, Hairston “made regular gifts to as many as 15 people per year since 2011.”

Written statements from friends, family and a caretaker document allegations of neglect and isolation from friends and family, distrust and fractured relationships, which led to Eddie Hairston filing for a conservatorship for 88-year old Hairston, his medical care and finances. The court case was filed in November.

Eddie Hairston and friends of the elder Hairston are blaming an unlicensed caregiver, who has had power of attorney over the millionaire’s medical care and finances since 2015. The caretaker, Tiffany Borba and others, claim Eddie Hairston and friends were cut out of Hairston’s life for attempting to exploit his wealth.

Court reports say Hairston enlisted Borba as his caretaker in 2012. In written declarations to the court, friends of Hairston report incidents over the following years in which Hairston’s prescriptions were not filled, his home would be dirty, there would be no food in the house and calls to Borba from them would not be answered.

In a written declaration, a former neighbor, Melynda Weide, said in spring 2014, Weide and her husband heard Hairston calling for help from inside his home. The doors were locked, Weide said her husband broke a window to get to Hairston, who had been laying on the floor all night. Another friend, Janice Watson, reported similar situations during the same time period.

Legal records showed that Hairston gave Borba a $819,000 home in Paso Robles in March of 2015, also purchasing a new home for himself for $409,000. Watson’s husband, Lonnie, provided a written declaration that Hairston bought Borba a Porsche Cayman in 2016. Lonnie Watson’s declaration also included photos of several other vehicles outside Borba’s home.

In December 2015, documents showed that Hairston signed over power of attorney for both his finances and medical care to Borba. Up until that time, Eddie Hairston had the power of attorney. According to Borba’s written declaration, Hairston gave numerous cash gifts to Eddie and his wife that exceeded a half million dollars. The financial gifts included travel expenses to visit from Colorado. Borba’s declaration said the visits often ended in arguments and the final visit in November 2015 ending with “Eddie’s wife losing control, screaming at Charles.” Shortly after that incident Hairston changed his power of attorney from Eddie to Borba.

Attorney Paul Clark, who helped Hairston set up the trust for his lottery winnings, said, “Mr. Hairston expressed suspicion towards Eddie and his wife regarding their motivations.” Chaisson also claimed that a gate and security cameras installed at Hairston’s home were because of Hairston’s distrust of his nephew.

In her declaration, Borba stated that she’s arranged for his home care on a clinical level. That care plan includes care by licensed vocational nurses (LVN) and certified nursing assistants (CNA) who provide support and care 24 hours a day. “There is nothing Mr. Hairston lacks for in his care,” Rosalyn Myers, a private LVN who works with Hairston, said in her written declaration. Borba also denied allegations that she mistreated Hairston. William Dwyer, who claims to be a friend of Hairston since 1990 stated that he’s never been denied access to Hairston or seen Borba mistreat him. Kevin Wright, another of Hairston’s nephews, filed a written declaration in support of Borba, claiming that he’d never been prevented from visiting his uncle and accusing Eddie of going behind the Hairston family’s back by pursuing the conservatorship.

Eddie Hairston’s attorney, Glenn Lewis, argues in a court filing that the individuals supporting Borba’s claims either received gifts from Hairston or are working for Borba, who has the power over Hairston’s finances. Lewis wrote that “Charles Hairston is not speaking on his own behalf. His declaration is noticeably absent.”

In a recent conversation, Lewis told the Paso Robles Daily News that San Luis Obispo County Adult Protective Services had been involved in the case, but Lewis was not sure about the agencies current involvement. Lewis said a conservatorship is a “toss up, it depends on what the court-appointed attorney recommends.” The court-appointed attorney John Ronca to represent Hairston. Ronca has not yet returned a phone call from the Paso Robles Daily News. Lewis expects the case to continue for several months.

The 88-year old Hairston is bedridden but alert according to some reports. However, a report by Melanie Phillips, the court-appointed probate investigator states that Hairston believes it to be the year 1990 and was unable to hold a coherent conversation.

According to Eddie Hairston’s written declaration, he is Hairston’s biological son, claiming that Hairston told him this. Declarations from friends, as well as the woman who sold Hairston the winning ticket in 2011, stated that Hairston mentioned that Eddie was his son. In his declaration, Eddie said he attempted to have a private investigator test his DNA to confirm the paternity, but the investigator turned out to be a scam artist.

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Elderly Paso Robles lottery winner is the center of a legal battle concerning his welfare and fortune

Retired chiropractor at center of legal battle dies

James Chism & daughter Susan Lucier

A retired Clinton Township chiropractor whose biological children waged a public battle over his guardianship and health care died this week at 78.

James Chism died Oct. 24. He had owned and operated Chism Chiropractic in Fraser.

His health became a public issue beginning in December 2011 when three of his five adult children accused their father’s wife of 27 years at the time, Karen Chism, not their mother, of orchestrating efforts to accelerate his health problems and blocking their efforts to see him. He was diagnosed with dementia, taking prescription drugs and admitted to a mental hospital, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Mount Clemens, and later to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township after suffering a heart attack.

The children -- Steve Chism, Susan Lucier and Laurie Meagher -- protested publicly by picketing in front of the Mount Clemens facility and protesting on Facebook, creating the page, “Saving the lift of Army vet James F. Chism,” which has 1,526 members. They all resided out of state.

Karen Chism had gained guardianship over him in December 2011, and they accused her of moving assets and selling his practice at a low price.

A judge shortly thereafter stripped her of the guardianship and transferred it to an attorney, who was removed nine months later when the judge determined Chism could function on his own.

Steve Chism said this week that he remains “disgusted” with the state probate system that prevented them from having more involvement with their father.

He said since September 2012 when James Chism’s guardianship was removed, he and his siblings’ contact with their father continued to dissipate due to Karen Chism blocking their efforts. He said they barely had contact with him the past couple of years despite attempts to do so.

He maintains his belief that his father died prematurely.

“I knew he had at least 10 good years left in him,” he said this week.

He said he believes his father suffered from the effects of his treatment in 2011 and ‘12, and was not treated properly in recent years after the guardianship was lifted. He said he believes his father was over-medicated with prescription drugs, which he said is tragically ironic since James Chism kept himself in top-notch shape and believed in natural healing over prescription-drug use.

The obituary didn’t name his natural offspring, only saying he is survived by “five biological children.”

Steve Chism said he would like to see a law passed that mandates that adult children can visit their biological parent even if the parent’s spouse opposes it. A battle between the wife of the late Casey Kasem and his biological child brought national attention to the issue.

But Michele Fuller, a Sterling Heights elder-law attorney, said existing “laws and processes” with the probate court system in Michigan provide avenues for adult children to pursue visitation. She said children can petition a judge for a guardian to allow visitation or can seek to have a guardian replaced by a child or another attorney. If the parent does not have a guardian, the children can petition to be one or have one named.

Fuller, who operates the Michigan Law Center, noted that if there is estrangement between the parent and child, and the parent does not wish to see the children, it can be difficult to gain visitation.

Karen Chism said she looked out for the best interests of her husband and accused her husband’s children of lying, making disparaging remarks and threatening to take the couple’s assets. She said Steve Chism wrongly accused her of trying to murder her husband, and that she was interviewed by a Clinton Township police detective.

During the height of the dispute, Karen Chism in 2012 filed for a personal protection order against the three children, but a Macomb County Circuit Court judge denied it following a hearing in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.

She said it was not her but the children’s comments about her that turned her husband against them.

James Chism’s appointed attorney in 2012, Patricia Patterson-Courie, who advocated for his freedom from guardianship, said this week that when Chism gained independence, “He was upset with the way they (his children) treated his wife.”

“He was adamant, insisting he wanted to be home with his wife.”

Steve Chism said his father was influenced against them by Karen Chism.

Patterson-Courie said she did not wish to take sides in the case. She said she understood the children’s suspicions but didn’t find nefarious intent by Karen Chism.

“He had made such a miracle recovery from a near comatose state,” she said. “The circumstances looked strange. You can see why the children had suspicions and concerns, but none of that could be found.”

She said some of Karen Chism’s actions were part of an attorney’s advice to spend their money on “exempt” items that would allow him to qualify for Medicaid.

She said “mistrust” developed between the children and Karen Chism, partly because the children lived far away. “It’s really a shame there was that much mistrust and division,” she said.

“I’m sorry to see that he passed,” Patterson-Courie said of James Chism. “He was a very engaging, sweet man.”

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Retired chiropractor at center of legal battle dies