When Elvis Presley died at the age of 42, on August 16, 1977, he had less than $1m in the bank. Elvis, at 21, became the most famous man in the world and held that title for the remaining 21 years of his life. Baz Luhrmann in his movie “Elvis” shows that Elvis was the victim of systematic financial abuse by his manager, Tom Parker. Sean O’Neal, author of “My Boy Elvis” estimates that Elvis was overcharged $100m in management fees.
Known as the “Colonel,” the title being honorary was Dutch-born Andreas Cornelius van Kujik who later became Tom Parker had entered the United States illegally when he was just 20 years old.
Paul Simpson, who wrote “The Truth Behind the Mismanagement of Elvis states ‘The fact that Parker, an illegal alien, with a gambling addiction with no valid passport partly explains why a world tour never materialized. It’s also widely known that Elvis became concerned that Parker was using him to pay his gambling debts which poisoned their relationship.”
This story alone should serve as a lesson to all artists; that forensic audits conducted from time to time or to allay suspicions of fraudulent transactions conducted by members of their team are necessary and is money well spent.
Jerry Ipsen, a Certified Fraud Examiner and founder of Ipsen Due Diligence resides in the Los Angeles area and is equipped to handle such financial investigations.
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