Tony Bennett’s Daughters Accuse Brother of Mismanaging Family Trust and Paying Himself $2.6 Million in New Lawsuit: Details

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Tony Bennett’s daughters, Antonia and Johanna, have recently accused their brother Danny of mishandling their father’s finances for years and illegally taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the family trust. This allegation is a part of Antonia and Johanna’s response to Danny’s filing made in November, where he sought either to transfer or dismiss a petition that was originally filed in June 2024 at the surrogate’s court.

On January 3rd, Antonia and Johanna submitted a document to the court expressing their opposition to Danny’s petition. They stated that they harbor significant doubts regarding the proper management of his responsibilities as a trustee, suggesting potential mismanagement.

According to the documents obtained by People, it is stated that for a long time before Tony’s passing, Danny played multiple roles that seemed to contradict each other as a fiduciary, and he ultimately withdrew substantial funds from the Family Trust for his personal use and that of his children. Both sisters are beneficiaries of the 1994 Tony Bennett Family Trust, along with their brother Dae, while Danny holds the position of the sole trustee.

Additionally, according to information shared by Danny with numerous news sources, before Tony’s passing, Tony experienced a period where he lacked mental capacity. This meant that Tony could no longer fulfill his role as co-trustee within the Family Trust. As a result, Danny became the sole trustee of the Family Trust, without any supervision. This is outlined in the filing.

antonio_and_johanna’s claim suggests they are entitled to a full report on Danny’s activities, both prior to and following Tony’s demise, given that Danny had been functioning largely unmonitored. They express concern about perceived opacity in the situation.

[Tony] made it very clear in his will that he wanted each of his four children to receive an equal share,” according to the documentation submitted.

According to the singer’s daughters, Danny is accused of writing checks from trust funds at his own discretion and making personal gifts totaling $200,700 in 2022 using these funds. Additionally, they allege that he received extra payments of $50,000 per month starting as early as 2021, in addition to the commission he earned for managing Tony’s business, even though no formal agreements were reached until 2022.

In 2022, Danny facilitated the sale of Tony’s possessions to Iconoclast, asserting that he did so because the singer was out of money. However, according to the daughters’ court documents, Tony actually had millions of dollars at the time of the transaction. Contradictorily, the daughters allege that Danny, despite claiming their father was in dire financial straits, continued to bestow gifts on himself and his offspring from the Family Trust funds. The filing indicates that Danny’s firm, RPM, garnered nearly $2.6 million in commissions, while Antonia and Johanna each received only $245,000.

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2025-01-16 08:52