An elderly California couple claims in a lawsuit that former Disney star Erik von Detten convinced them to use their retirement savings to purchase gold coins at heavily inflated prices.
LOS ANGELES — Erik von Detten, recognized for Disney projects including “Brink!” and “The Princess Diaries,” is facing a lawsuit from a California couple who allege that he directed millions of dollars from their retirement accounts toward overpriced gold investments.
According to reporting by the Los Angeles Times, Variety and other outlets, the couple alleges that von Detten encouraged them to spend more than $2 million on coins valued substantially below what they paid.
Sheila Greenberg, 85, and Norman Greenberg, 97, named von Detten and Rosland Capital in the lawsuit. Their claims include financial elder abuse, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud and conversion.
The lawsuit says the Greenbergs first contacted Rosland Capital in 2020 after seeing one of the company’s television advertisements. They were then referred to von Detten, who joined the precious-metals firm in 2018 after moving away from his acting career.
The couple allegedly told von Detten that they had limited knowledge of gold but held more than $2 million in traditional individual retirement accounts.
According to the complaint, they followed his recommendations and purchased Lady Liberty gold coins for more than $999,000. On Nov. 5, 2020, they allegedly made another purchase exceeding $1.14 million. The Greenbergs say they ultimately paid approximately $2.15 million for coins worth about $1.36 million, representing a markup of roughly 60%.
The complaint further alleges that von Detten repeatedly pressed the couple to invest additional funds. It says the coins were not delivered to their home, instead remaining in a storage facility while the Greenbergs continued paying account and storage fees. Once their retirement accounts had been exhausted, they allegedly used a family trust in August 2021 to purchase nearly $200,000 more in coins.
Rosland Capital filed for bankruptcy in July, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Greenbergs say they did not discover the alleged overcharging until 2025. They are seeking at least $900,000 in compensatory damages, as well as double and punitive damages, interest and legal fees. They have also requested a jury trial.
Von Detten has not publicly commented on the allegations.
Von Detten became a familiar face to young audiences in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He played the lead in the 1998 Disney Channel original movie “Brink!” and portrayed Josh Bryant, the popular student who briefly becomes Anne Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis’ love interest in “The Princess Diaries.” His other credits include the Disney series “So Weird” and the voice of Sid, the destructive neighbor in “Toy Story” and several follow-up films.
