Last Friday afternoon the news came out that Nicolas Cage owed $6.3 million in back taxes to the US Government, which had placed liens on most of his luxury properties. Cage owns a 40 acre island in the Bahamas, and homes in Rhode Island, Lousiana, Nevada, and California. He also owns a castle in England and recently sold a castle in Germany. He failed to pay $6 million in taxes starting in 2007, and owes another $350,000 in taxes from 2002 to 2004. To add to his money woes, Cage has defaulted on a $2 million bank loan.

Someone is timing the release of information about Cage’s money problems so that the news comes out later on Fridays when it’s least likely to get repeated. This Friday the news came out that Cage is suing his former business manager for making risky real estate investments and essentially squandering his money on property that lost value. The lawsuit seems to allege that Cage had no idea that he was overextended and that it’s all his accountant’s fault:

Nicolas Cage sued his former business manager for $20 million on Friday, claiming bad advice and mismanagement led him toward financial ruin.
Cage filed the lawsuit against Samuel J. Levin and his firm.

“Instead of protecting and preserving Cage’s wealth during one of the greatest economic periods in the country’s history, Levin placed Cage in numerous highly speculative and risky real estate investments, resulting in Cage suffering catastrophic losses,” the lawsuit states.

Levin served as Cage’s business manager from 2001 to 2008 and collected millions of dollars in management fees, court documents state.

Cage, 45, relied on Levin’s statements and advice and couldn’t have known about the financial trouble he was facing until after he hired new management, according to the lawsuit.

A phone message left for Levin at his firm Levin & Co. Management Inc. was not immediately returned.

Public records show Levin has been a licensed certified public accountant in California for nearly 25 years and has no public record of disciplinary actions.
An Oscar-winning actor, Cage is known for his dramatic roles in films such as “Leaving Las Vegas” and “Adaptation” as well as action turns in “The Rock” and the “National Treasure” films.

[From The Huffington Post]

I might be able to buy this explanation if 2007 was the first time that Cage owed back taxes, but he also owed $350,000 from 2002 to 2004. Did this business manager/accountant hide all that from Cage and continue to buy properties without telling him he couldn’t afford it? I bet that Cage just wanted to own a bunch of properties, his accountant didn’t tell him it wasn’t a wise idea, and he ended up in debt. If this is what happened it is partially the accountant’s fault, but Cage should have been checking up on his money. It’s hard to believe he didn’t sign off on these property acquisitions and that it’s all someone else’s problem, especially since the accountant has never been accused of something like this before.