Our courtwatchers in Aiken, S.C. now tell us the hearing on the emergency petition to remove James Brown’s three estate trustees (aka personal representatives or PRs) has been changed from this Thursday to Friday, Feb. 9. at 10 a.m. in District Court.
We expect the same cast of characters facing off: on one side, James Brown’s six grown children and 8 grandchildren, represented by experienced Atlanta litigator Louis Levenson; on the other, the Godfather’s long-time attorney, Buddy Dallas, accountant David Cannon and a retired magistrate–all whom are said to have toasted the Godfather and Tommie Rae at their wedding in 2001–and all now championed by highly-regarded attorney, Strom Thurmond, Jr., son of the late senator and legend. Read the rest of this entry »
To fully appreciate the powerful undertow of ugly pulling us inexorably towards the brewing scandal over who should run James Brown’s mega-millions on the banks of the Savannah River in Aiken, S.C., we’d be remiss not to pass this along.
The day before Browns’ adult children filed their restraining order to remove the personal representatives last week, James Brown’s vigilant son-in-law, Shawn Thomas, called the cops to report estate trustees sashaying about the Godfather’s 60 acres and mansion on Beech Island, S.C.–and blocked their escape with his car. While this falls in the “too good to check” category, we’re not making it up. We saw it in the Augusta Chronicle. .
So, it’s going to be Tomi Rae AND James Brown’s grown kids against estate trustees, and you read it here first.
Indeed, The Bald Truth has learned that Tomi Rae Brown, the aggrieved and grieving widow of the late Godfather of Soul –dissed and dismissed as a mere acquaintance by estate lawyers– will draw her own line in the dirt of Aiken, South Carolina this week when her lawyers ask a judge to boot, or neutralize, the three trustees aka personal reps of her late husband’s estate..
“We have the same concerns as James Brown’s children and grandchildren,” attorney Robert Rosen tells me. He plans to file his petition later this week and be in district court Thursday, but doesn’t know about Tomi Rae. “We just want a complete accounting we can count on of all the assets being there.” Read the rest of this entry »
On November 14 last year, James Brown was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, a legend finally recognized there for inspiring so many of its native-born legends.
On it, he thanks God and tells his wife, “I love you Tomi Rae.”
We want to thank a reader named Duane for tipping us to it, and ask all of you to be on the lookout for anything Godfather-related, or otherwise newsworthy, we might put up here related to this on-going story…or other big ones.
Entertainment Tonight reports artharris.com exclusive on James Brown’s buried treasure, that over the years he buried possibly millions of dollars in cash in the back yard (and hid more in the house) to avoid banks and keep his money safe. (Video courtesy, ET, Jan, 24)
Come Thursday, Feb. 1, expect a showdown at the courthouse in Aiken, S.C., as James Brown’s designated heirs and their attorneys demand the Godfather’s long-time advisers be booted off duties as trustees turned “personal representatives” of the irrevocable trust and its lucrative “Aaaaaaa Feel GOOD! assets. .
And a special THANK YOU, to more than 5,000 readers who have discovered our sight since we put it up two weeks ago. We appreciate your visits, tips, suggestions and support. Stay tuned.
In an explosive affadavit attached to the Emergency Petition James Brown’s heirs filed yesterday to remove the trustees of the estate, a security guard says he saw several trustees traipse through the mansion Jan. 23 and take several items from “secret” hiding places.
Widow Tomi Rae Brown tells me she fears lawyer Buddy Dallas may have taken crucial documents they kept in the house. The guard, Joseph Lee, may be called as a witness next Thursday at a hearing in Aiken, S.C. over the petition to remove the trustees.
Lee says he watched lawyer Buddy Dallas and others videotape the grounds and the inside of the house, then summon a locksmith. “I personally witnessed some members of the group investigating a secret compartment in a room of the house. This compartment is housed behind a picture and wsa not open prior to the arrival of the above group,” said Lee. Read the rest of this entry »
In a bombshell lawsuit, heirs of James Brown named in his will filed an emergency petition in Aiken, S.C. to stop longtime trustees (now called personal reps) from “entering the property” or touching or removing anything from the house or the 60 acres it sits on.
That means banning any midnight backhoes out to dig for paydirt and possibly millions of dollars in cash sources tell us exclusively that James Brown may have hidden in the house and buried in the yard.
You can watch our scoop on Entertainment Tonight (tonight!) and read the complete lawsuit on artharris.com. http://artharris.com/docs/restainingorder.pdf In it, Brown children ask a court to boot longtime personal advisers like lawyer Buddy Dallas off all estate duties and not to touch so much as a blade of grass.
“It’s sad and unfortunate it’s come to this,” Buddy Dallas told me a little while ago. “If they’re questioning my integrity…I represented Mr. Brown for 24 years, and if Mr. Brown were here, he’d have alot to say about this. These are the same folks who sued their father several years ago.” Read the rest of this entry »
“They got my plane chained to the runway at the Memphis airport,” James Brown was rasping into the phone, “and they won’t let it go until I give ‘em some money! They want cash. You gotta go dig it up at the house. It’s by the pool.”
It was the mid-70s and James Brown was calling his money man, a young white financial planner in Atlanta. Let’s call him Sam, an old friend who regaled me with the chaotic early days: like so many cats, Mr.Brown spending more than he made, paying the band in cash after every gig, and, yes, burying, burying, the rest.
Call it Godfather Finance 101. “He used to bury his money when we were together,” Tomi Rae tells me, too. It was up to the accountants to sort it all out.. Read the rest of this entry »
For years, James Brown buried bundles of cash in his backyard, hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time, and those who stand to inherit –whether in the will or not — fear that money could be long gone by the time the estate is settled.
“There’s money all over the place,” Tomi Rae Brown told me in an exclusive interview early this morning. “I’m not going to tell you where it is, but I’ll tell you if it’s gone.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tomi Rae Brown will agree to a DNA test for her son, five-year old James Brown II, IF his other six children agree to be tested as well. “Bring it on,” she tells me, “but the other kids should be tested, too.”
“She’s never had a problem with a DNA test,” says her Charleston, S.C. attorney, Robert Rosen. “She knows James is their son, but she wants the other children to have one, too. It only seems fair.” Read the rest of this entry »
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