Kathy Ireland shares how she discovered ex-managers alleged $100M fraud
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Kathy Ireland is speaking out after launching a lawsuit against her former business executives, alleging they betrayed her trust and stole millions from her and her family “on a staggering and unconscionable scale.”
The 63-year-old business owner and former model spoke about the case in a new interview with ABC News’ “Nightline” in a joint interview with her attorney, Jill Basinger.Good Morning America“On Friday.
“My old, long-ago job description was: ‘Shut up and pose.’ And I reject that,” Ireland said. “And I will not stand idly by while anyone lies, abuses, or harms my family and others.”
In the lawsuit filed in Santa Barbara, Ireland, the model, who Forbes estimates is worth $420 million through her eponymous brand, claimed that her family was targeted by Jason Winters and Erik Sterling, who allegedly headed a deceptive management scheme.
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Kathy Ireland is speaking out about her lawsuit against her former business executives. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)
Ireland claimed the defendants told her she was “extraordinarily wealthy” and that the family “never had to worry,” but that her former team “failed to create and invest in wealth” as promised to their family, leaving Ireland and her husband, Greg Olsen, in extreme debt and forced to sell their family home.
“Our son and his wife bought a house on their own. They had to move… and we wanted to help them,” she told ABC News of how she learned about his financial situation. “Our son said: ‘It would be great if you and your father signed together.’ And being denied co-signing rights because we had no credit was a huge red flag.”
She stated that she and her husband “believe our bills are paid, but they are not,” adding that she “doesn’t know all of them.”
“Defendants are liable to Plaintiffs for damages not exceeding tens of millions of dollars, but not to exceed $100 million, depending on the evidence at trial,” the suit states, and “Defendants continue to withhold funds they received from and are owed to Plaintiffs.”
The defendants deny Ireland’s allegations and say the allegations are “false, defamatory and unsupported by any documentation.” (Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for SBIFF)
“We suspect they put a mortgage on the house,” Basinger told the media outlet regarding how the money was spent. “We suspect they somehow took the equity even though it was a life insurance policy that was purchased.”
In a statement to ABC News, the defendants denied Ireland’s allegations, saying the dispute stemmed from a $25 million fraud lawsuit filed against Ireland last year. Describing their allegations as “false, defamatory and unsupported by any documentation”, the officials added that all of the loans in question bore Ireland’s signature and that those involved were “not business managers but partners and equal shareholders from the very beginning”.
Ireland and her husband learned they no longer “had a significant retirement account.” (John G. Zimmerman/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Ireland first rose to fame as a “Sports Illustrated” Swimsuit Issue cover model in the 1980s and 1990s and later entered the business world in her 20s. She has achieved great success as a businesswoman; Forbes once named her one of the most successful self-made women with an estimated net worth of $400 million.
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The suit alleges that despite her success, she and her husband “no longer had a significant retirement account,” “prudently managed investments that secured their future,” or “any money that would secure their retirement and their children’s futures as they were led to believe.”
“Kathy built her career at that young age,” the lawsuit stated. “He was newlywed, planning to start a family. He believed in hard work. He believed in doing honest business. And based on the promises they made to him, he believed them. Tragically, that belief was misplaced. They were deceiving him from the beginning.”
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Ireland shared that she and her husband had to sell their family home due to the amount of debt they were in.
WATCH: KATHY IRELAND CLOSED TO BELIEF AFTER ACCUSING HER FORMER TEAM OF DEFRAUDING HER, HER LAWYER SAYS
In a previous interview with Fox News Digital, Basinger commented on Ireland’s strength throughout this whole ordeal, calling her a “strong person.”
“Kathy is a strong person of faith, and her trust in God really helped her and (husband) Greg (Olsen) overcome betrayal and broken trust and gave her hope for the future,” Basinger said.
As for the defendants, Ireland told ABC News he “hopes for the best for them.”
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Ireland said he thought his bills were paid, even though they weren’t. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
“I hope it’s the best for them. That doesn’t include me continuing this,” he said. “You can’t hide behind me and do things that I will never approve of, that I will never say are good…Do the right thing, tomorrow will be better than today.”
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Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
