Stan Lee's ex-manager charged with elder abuse against comic book co-creator

FILE PHOTO: Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee shows his hands after placing them in cement during a ceremony in the forecourt of the TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The former manager of Stan Lee has been charged with elder abuse against the late comic book legend, a Los Angeles court official said on Monday.

Keya Morgan was charged on Friday with five counts of elder abuse, including false imprisonment, fraud and forgery stemming from an incident last summer when Lee was 95 years old, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Superior Court public information office told Los Angeles City News Service.

The spokeswoman added that a warrant for Morgan's arrest had been issued.

Morgan, a New York-based memorabilia collector who became involved with Lee in 2017, was served with a restraining order last year after Lee's family accused him of elder abuse.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's office on Monday said it was unable to provide any information. An attorney for Morgan could not be located but last year Morgan denied allegations of abuse.

Lee, the co-creator of "Spider-Man," "Iron Man," "The Hulk" and dozens of other Marvel superheroes, died in November 2018 at the age of 95.

In court documents last year, Morgan was accused of seizing control of Lee's Hollywood Hills home and hiring security guards with orders to keep away relatives and associates before moving the comic book creator to an unfamiliar condominium.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)