April 8, 2025

The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Thoracic and Cardiovascular Charity Sues Merrill Lynch for $2.4 Million

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (Thinkstock: Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images).
Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (Thinkstock: Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images).

Merrill Lynch is being sued for $2.4 million by a Seal Beach-based charity that alleges a woman’s investment adviser steered away money meant for the organization.

The Los Angeles Thoracic and Cardiovascular Foundation filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Merrill Lynch, the wealth management arm of Bank of America, and Banc of America Investment Services Inc. investment adviser James Schaedler. BAIS is a predecessor entity to Merrill Lynch, the suit states.

The complaint alleges financial elder abuse and negligent supervision.

A Merrill Lynch representative said the company’s legal team has not yet reviewed the lawsuit and that he had no comment. He said Schaedler has not been with the Bank of America since 2010.

The suit is related to a trust created by Juanita Earley and her husband, John Earley, a Santa Ana couple who were longtime clients of the Bank of America. Juanita Earley died in January 2012 at age 96.

The Earleys stated in their trust dating back to 1990 that they wished to leave their estate to charities when they died, according to the lawsuit. In 2005, Juanita Earley amended the trust to name the Los Angeles Thoracic and Cardiovascular Foundation as the sole beneficiary, the suit states.

Schaedler began to capitalize on his position as the woman’s money manager in late 2008, the suit alleges.

“Seizing on her vulnerability, Mr. Schaedler systematically insinuated himself into Mrs. Earley’s personal life,” the suit states. “Among other things, he stopped for visits at her home periodically. These visits soon morphed into a routine.”

Schaedler “anointed himself” as Juanita Earley’s part-time chauffeur as he brought her groceries, drove her to church and influenced her to give him a health-care directive that he used to change her doctor against her wishes, the suit alleges.

Schaedler also isolated the woman from her family and friends, put her into a nursing home, claimed to be her conservator and ordered that the facility not allow her to take calls or have visitors, according to the lawsuit.

In July 2009, Juanita Earley “purportedly prepared or executed documents in Mr. Schaedler’s favor around and after that time,” the suit states. “It was here — one month after amending the trust — that Mrs. Earley was declared incompetent by a facility physician after extensive testing.”

Schaedler received about $2.4 million from the woman’s trust after she died, the suit states. He has “attested to a spending spree of hundreds of thousands of dollars” from the funds that he obtained from the trust, according to the complaint.

The suit alleges Schaedler “knew he could get away with his self- serving methods involving Mrs. Earley because BAIS was neither holding him accountable nor otherwise subjecting him to any meaningful oversight about his client relationships.”

The 2009 trust amendment resulted in “practically eliminating Los Angeles Thoracic as the sole trust beneficiary in favor of Mr. Schaedler,” the suit states.

Before she died, Juanita Earley “expressed to at least two disinterested witnesses her fear of Mr. Schaedler and her distress at having been pressured to change key documents,” the suit states.

Related Posts

LA Protests Draw Thousands in Rebuke of Trump Administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE Cuts

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Marches Target Federal Layoffs, Program Cuts, and Attacks on Civil Rights Demonstrators filled city streets across Southern California on Saturday,...

Louisiana Double Murder Suspect Arrested in Near Culver City With Loaded Guns, Body Armor

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Marina Del Rey OfficersTraffic Stop Leads to Arrest of Fugitive Wanted in Parents’ Deaths A Louisiana man wanted for the...

A Dozen UCLA Student’s Visas Are Canceled After Federal Crackdown on Political Activism Announced

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

UC International Students Caught in Political Crossfire as Visas Are Pulled Over the past week, more than 36 students and...

Malibu Tech CEO Convicted in $20 Million Investor Celebrity Fraud Scheme

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Tech CEO Convicted After Lavish Lifestyle Funded by Fake Promises Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 63, of Malibu, was found guilty late...

Venice Man With Alzheimer’s Reported Missing; Police Seek Public’s Help

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Richard Hunter, 79, Disappeared After Leaving His Home Saturday Morning Authorities and family members are seeking the public’s help in...

Spring Staycation: Santa Monica Invites Locals with Exclusive Hotel Deals

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Los Angeles Residents Can Vacation Without Leaving Town Santa Monica Travel & Tourism is inviting Los Angeles County residents to...

BuildStrong is Leading the Effort to Rebuild the Pacific Palisades

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

The recent wildfires in the Pacific Palisades caused extensive property damage, leaving many residents unsure about how to move forward....

West LA Affordable Housing Development Gets OK Without Parking Spaces

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

New Sawtelle Affordable Housing Project Gets City Approval According to the approval document posted to the Los Angeles City Planning...

The BW in Brentwood Sells for $744K Per Unit, Sets New LA Benchmark

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

LA’s Priciest Apartment Deal in Years Just Closed in Brentwood Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap,...

Genghis Cohen Leaving Fairfax Home After Four Decades

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

Chinese Food & Music Spot Genghis Cohen Is on the Move After more than four decades of serving New York-style...

Iconic Studio’s Departure Leaves Century City Facing Major Real Estate Shift

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

Once a Stable Real Estate Base, Century City Now Faces Renewed Uncertainty Century City, long considered a rare stronghold in...

Los Angeles Housing Department Ill-Equipped to Enforce Tenant Harassment Law

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

Thousands of Angelenos Report Harassment, Few Landlords Face Penalties A recent audit by the Los Angeles City Controller has found...

LAHSA CEO Resigns Amid Shift to New County-Led Homeless Department

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

LA Homeless Services Leader Resigns After Accountability Crisis The head of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has stepped down...

Suspect Arrested and Charged in March 27 Hit-and-Run Death

April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025

The Victim Was on the Way to His Job at the Beverly Hills Hotel  A 20-year-old man has been arrested...

LAPD to Conduct DUI Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols Across L.A. This Weekend

April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025

Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols Target High-Risk Areas, Come With High Penalties The Los Angeles Police Department will conduct a series...