Rodney Dangerfield’s Widow Claims She Was Swindled Out of $3.9 Million
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Joan Dangerfield, the widow of comedian Rodney Dangerfield, alleges she was swindled out of a $3.9 million investment in a hologram company.
Dangerfield filed suit Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming she was “duped by two cut-throat men,” Steve Fox and Peter McMillan III. Dangerfield invested in Rockdome, which she says she believed represented the future of live performance.
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“Protected with four issued patents, it would build the world’s first 360-degree virtual theatre immersing a collective audience within a ‘holodeck’ arena where Artists perform in an unparalleled live show/film hybrid, instantly transformable for multiple uses, including eSports and convertible nightclubs, providing the revenue of five venues for the cost of one,” the lawsuit states.
Dangerfield alleges that Fox, the CEO, induced her to invest over and over to pay his “bloated salary and expenses.” She alleges that Fox and McMillan, the founding partner of Willowbrook Capital Group, conspired to deprive her of her position as a secured creditor, and then foreclosed on the company’s assets, wiping out her equity.
“After the foreclosure, Fox caused Rockdome Inc., to abandon the Rockdome name so that a new company formed by McMillan could steal the name and associated goodwill and continue the Rockdome plan to develop valuable entertainment venues using the assets that had originally secured Dangerfield’s investment,” the suit alleges.
Fox and McMillan could not be reached for comment on Friday.
The suit alleges breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.
Update, July 18, 2023: The lawsuit has been settled.
“All matters between the Parties have been resolved amicably,” said Amman Khan, Dangerfield’s attorney.
Joan Dangerfield by gmaddaus on Scribd
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