Leonard Cohen's family launch new lawsuit over ‘swindling' of fortune
Leonard Cohen's children have accused the singer's former lawyer of forging documents that allowed millions to be 'siphoned' from the family estate.
Adam and Lorca Cohen filed a lawsuit accusing lawyer Reeve Chudd of malpractice for forging documents to allow their Canadian-born father's manager, Robert Kory, to be named as a trustee of their father's estate.
The lawsuit accuses Ervin Cohen & Jessup (ECJ), where Mr Chudd was previously a partner, of 'turning a blind eye to Kory's self-dealing and covering up its own wrongdoing'.
In 2010 Cohen 'purportedly' replaced his children and his former partner Anjani Thomas with Mr Kory as the sole successor of his trust. He then revoked this decision in 2016 and reinstated his children and Ms Thomas as successor trustees, according to the suit.
Shortly after Cohen's death in 2016, EJC were alleged to have forged trust documents to make it appear Mr Jory was the sole successor.
In 2022 the Cohen family successfully sued to remove him from his role.
The family accused Mr Kory of forgery in 2023. He was quoted as blaming Mr Chudd and claimed he 'modified a document unbeknownst to anybody'.
The lawsuit alleges that the law firm's malpractice 'made it possible for Kory to dissipate the trust's assets through self-dealing'.
It states that between 2018 and 2023 Mr Kory charged the trust an estimated $18.2million (£14.4million) to pay himself, his businesses and family members.
It is alleged this included $650,000 in rent for his law offices, car expenses, and a first-class trip to South Africa that Mr Kory took with his wife to view the Mandela archives.
The lawsuit includes a letter from Cohen to Mr Kory in which he says the situation is 'out of control' and asks how much money he has 'taken away'.
It also includes a deposition from Mr Chudd in which he admits to removing a page from Cohen's signed trust after his death and replacing it with one naming Mr Kory as trustee.
It claims the EJC was paid more than $2.6millon in legal fees after Cohen's death.
The lawsuit calls for 'restitution' for an amount to be proved in court, which it claims exceeds $25million.
The Telegraph has contacted Mr Kory and ECJ for comment.
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