The manager of Canadian-American alternative rock singer Alanis Morisette, Jonathan Todd Schwartz, pleaded guilty last week to an embezzling charge filed by the singer in a Los Angeles Federal Court.
Schwartz admitted that he fleeced Morisette nearly $5 million and subsequently claimed that he used the money to grow marijuana.
The former manager of Alanis Morisette said that he withdrew about $4.8 million from the singer’s account without her knowledge and labeled the unauthorized cash withdrawals as ‘sundry and personal expenses’ on the accounting records, reports Rappler.
When he was eventually confronted about the missing funds, Schwartz then lied and claimed that the money was used as an investment to illegally grow cannabis.
Schwartz also admitted to embezzling more than $1.7 million from one other unidentified celebrity and a sports figure.
Misappropriated funds to enrich himself
Deirdre Fike, the assistant director in charge of the FBI office in Los Angeles, said in a statement that Jonathan Todd Schwartz was hired to protect his clients’ money by managing it professionally. But instead, he misappropriated millions to enrich himself.
Morissette, who filed a lawsuit against Schwartz in May, said her former manager had cost her $15 million overall both through theft and other malfeasance.
The Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based singer said she turned down a lucrative offer to perform five shows in Las Vegas after Schwartz convinced her that she did not need the money.
She said she fired Schwartz in March after he failed to clearly explain her finances. According to GSO Business Management, which employed Schwartz and has also filed a lawsuit against him, he maintained a lavish lifestyle that included a $50,000 vacation to the Pacific island of Bora Bora and a $75,000 debt from a casino.
Schwartz on February 1 is expected to formally enter his guilty plea to two felony charges of wire fraud and filing a false tax return.
Although he technically faces up 23 years in prison, the plea deal states that a sentence of 4 to 6 years in prison will be considered by the judge.
Facing more charges
It looks like in addition to the embezzling charge filed by Alanis Morisette against him, Schwartz will be faced with wire fraud and also for filing a false tax return for failing to report the embezzled funds, reports The Tribune of India.
Schwartz is scheduled to appear on February 1 in the US District Court where he is expected to enter a guilty plea and be handed his prison sentence eventually.
Apart from an alternative rock singer, Alanis Morissette is also known as a songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actress.
Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s, with two commercially successful dance-pop albums. Afterward, she moved to Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, and in 1995 released “Jagged Little Pill,” a more rock-oriented album which sold more than 33 million units globally and is her most critically acclaimed work.
Her following album, “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie,” was released in 1998. Morissette took up producing duties for her subsequent albums, which include “Under Rug Swept” released in 2002, “So-Called Chaos” released in 2004, and “Flavors of Entanglement” released in 2008.
Her eighth studio album, “Havoc and Bright Lights,” was released in 2012. Morissette has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.
She is also known for her powerful and emotive mezzo-soprano voice. She has been dubbed as the “Queen of alt-rock angst” by Rolling Stone.
Looking back to her humble beginnings, Alanis Morisette was born on June 1, 1974, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to teacher Georgia Mary Ann Feuerstein and high-school principal Alan Richard Morissette.
Alanis has two siblings, including her older brother Chad who has become a business entrepreneur, and twin brother Wade, who also turned out to be a musician. Wade was only 12 minutes older than Alanis.
Her father was of French and Irish descent and her mother had Hungarian ancestry. Her parents were teachers in a military school and due to their work often had to move.
From 1977 to 1980, Morissette spent three years of her childhood in Germany. When she was six years old, she returned to Ottawa and started to play the piano.