Producer Aaron Kaplan Alleges Extortion Attempt, Triggering Lawsuit By His Late Brother’s Widow In Trust Dispute
Earlier this week, a press launch was blasted to Hollywood publications with the salacious headline: “Breaking Information: TV Producer Aaron Kaplan Sued For Invasion Of Privateness.”
Within the post-#MeToo period, it was designed to seize journalists’ consideration as the topic is among the high TV producers on the town. The lawsuit was in response to a Petition for Instruction filed by Aaron Kaplan in February, that lays out alleged makes an attempt by Elizabeth M. Kaplan, widow of Kaplan’s late older brother, profitable entrepreneur Joe Kaplan, to take away Aaron Kaplan as executor of his brother’s will and trustee of the belief, which incorporates Elizabeth Kaplan, her son with Joe, and Joe’s two grownup kids from a earlier marriage.
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COPYRIGHT_BP: Published on https://bingepost.com/producer-aaron-kaplan-alleges-extortion-attempt-triggering-lawsuit-by-his-late-brothers-widow-in-trust-dispute/93356/ by Hilda Workman on 2020-04-11T02:39:40.000Z
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Within the lawsuit, which doesn’t point out the petition, Elizabeth Kaplan alleges that Aaron Kaplan, upon recommendation of counsel, secretly arrange two hidden audio-video recording gadgets in one of many closets in her main bedroom, certainly one of which was aimed in a manner that might enable the gadget to file her whereas she was in numerous levels of undress.
The lawsuit got here greater than a moth after a authorized petition was filed by Aaron Kaplan on behalf of the Joe Kaplan Residing Belief, wherein he requested a choose to intervene after Elizabeth Kaplan “has tried to take and has taken belongings for herself” in extra of $1.5 million and “has demanded that the Trustee agree to change Joe’s Belief to her profit”. When Elizabeth Kaplan was refuted, in accordance with the petition “she employed a brand new lawyer who threatened the Trustee with a lawsuit that he warned can be damaging to the Trustee’s profession. Particularly, Elizabeth’s lawyer threatened to publish false allegations that the cameras had been meant to seize footage of Elizabeth in her non-public dressing space, scantily clad, except the Trustee acquiesced to Elizabeth’s calls for.”
Elizabeth Kaplan‘s lawsuit contains diagrams that allegedly present one of many cameras, put in in Joe Kaplan’s closet, was angled in a manner that it covers a hallway and her closet throughout the corridor.
“The allegations usually are not true,” the petition states. “The cameras had been positioned in Joe ‘s closet, and no such recording occurred. What the cameras did catch, nonetheless, was Elizabeth stealing Belief belongings.”
In engaged on this story, I used to be supplied entry to the video recorded by the 2 cameras, with all the footage restricted to the within of Joe Kaplan’s closet. Certainly one of them was targeted on the protected whose existence just isn’t revealed in Elizabeth Kaplan‘s submitting.
Per the petition, “Elizabeth’s attorneys have considered everything of the footage and are nicely conscious that the one indecencies captured by the motion-activated cameras had been Elizabeth’s theft of inheritance meant for Joe’s kids and heartless desecration of her late husband’s reminiscence.”
Right here is the sequence of occasions that led to the dispute, as revealed in Kaplan’s authorized petition and corroborated by Kaplan and his attorneys.
Joe Kaplan died abruptly in July 2018 whereas on trip in Bermuda with Elizabeth Kaplan.
In Joe Kaplan’s will, Aaron was named trustee of the property, estimated to be within the tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} on the time of his loss of life. Aaron Kaplan himself just isn’t a beneficiary and has not charged the property a price for his trustee companies. Elizabeth Kaplan, who had a prenup, is entitled to greater than $5 million.
Per the petition, Joe and Elizabeth Kaplan’s 19-year marriage was a “extremely unstable” one, marked by playing and extra. When he died, Joe Kaplan left $15 million in playing deaths, most of which Aaron Kaplan has been in a position to wipe out to the good thing about his brother’s kids – in addition to his widow.
Instantly following Joe Kaplan’s passing, Elizabeth Kaplan was detained by Bermuda police whereas investigating Kaplan’s loss of life.
Throughout that point, Aaron Kaplan was alerted that there had been individuals, believed to be pals of Elizabeth Kaplan, coming to the home in Malibu that Joe Kaplan and Elizabeth Kaplan had shared, certainly one of whom had spent hours on the property.
Kaplan and his grownup niece and nephew walked by means of the home to seek out artwork from the wall lacking and no money even if Joe Kaplan was recognized for preserving lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} of money round the home always. Additionally allegedly gone was the couple’s journey cash, believed ti be within the tens of 1000’s of {dollars}.
Since all cash belonged to the belief (Elizabeth Kaplan is entitled to private property), Aaron Kaplan raised his considerations along with his late brother’s lawyer, citing the truth that Joe Kaplan saved a wall protected in his closet. As revealed within the petition, stressing Kaplan’s obligations to the property, the lawyer suggested him to have cameras put in within the closet, and a letter was despatched to Elizabeth Kaplan instructing her to not go into Joe Kaplan’s closet.
Two cameras had been put in and operated by a 3rd celebration. They had been motion-activated, solely recording when somebody entered Joe Kaplan’s closet, masking the realm in entrance of the protected and the again of the closet. The footage was edited by the skin firm and despatched to Kaplan’s feminine assistant who would overview it with Kaplan.
In keeping with the petition, the cameras recorded Elizabeth Kaplan bringing in a locksmith to try to break the protected in addition to Elizabeth Kaplan, accompanied by her mom, rummaging by means of her late husband’s garments in search of cash – she discovered $10,000, which she took– whereas on the telephone along with her father and uncle, and disparaging her late husband.
The cameras had been found by Elizabeth Kaplan and her mom and, in accordance with Aaron Kaplan’s petition. their existence was later utilized in extortion try, with Elizabeth Kaplan’s lawyer threatening to go public and file a lawsuit if the desire just isn’t modified and Kaplan doesn’t step down from his position as trustee, one thing he refused to do.
“This lawsuit is in response to a Petition for Instruction filed by Aaron Kaplan, as trustee of his brother’s Residing Belief, to cease Elizabeth from persevering with to embezzle from the Belief,” Sanford Michelman and Howard Weitzman, counsel for the Trustee, mentioned in an announcement. “We proceed to be disillusioned in Elizabeth’s and her lawyer’s want to sensationalize the loss of life of Aaron’s brother and her ex-husband with a press launch and lawsuit designed to vary the phrases of, and get more cash from, the Belief created to guard Joe’s three kids. Elizabeth’s declare of a digital camera angled in the direction of her private house just isn’t true. Somewhat, the Belief’s lawyer, and never Aaron, instructed that cameras be positioned in Joe’s locked closet out of concern that Elizabeth would try to wrongfully misappropriate belief belongings. Because it turned out, the digital camera caught Elizabeth doing simply that, and as such, her fictional allegations will likely be conclusively demonstrated as foolish and meritless. As trustee, Aaron is concentrated solely on defending the Belief for the good thing about all of its beneficiaries as his brother wished, and he won’t succumb to extortionist ways.”
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About The Authors
Hilda Workman - Hilda Workman is a licensed financial advisor with years of expertise in the industry. She has assisted a range of clients, from sole proprietors to large corporations, in reaching their financial objectives. She is informed about many different financial subjects, including tax preparation, investment planning and also in fashion. She believes that the best things are those that are imperfect.