Late Marvel Comics mastermind Stan Lee’s former manager was arrested Saturday on suspicion of theft and elder abuse, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Keya Morgan a.k.a. Keyarash Mazhari, 43, was taken into custody after an investigation determined that the manager took more than $262,000 from Lee’s autograph signing sessions.
The manager had been previously arrested in June last year on suspicion of generating false 911 calls after reports surfaced that Morgan “falsely imprisoned” 95-year-old Lee in a secured Beverly Hills condominium after taking him out of his Hollywood Hills home in the middle of the night, cops say.
Authorities say Morgan was trying to deceive Lee into thinking that he was in danger and that he needed to be moved to a secure location.
Lee was “removed from Morgan’s control” two days after the incident.
“Mr. Lee had a large estate worth over an estimated $50 million with no clear protection from opportunists who could insert themselves into his life and take control of it,” LAPD said in a written statement.
Police said that no one had clear legal authority to act on Lee’s behalf but “Morgan exerted his control and influence over Lee.”
The comic book legend’s daughter requested a restraining last year alleging that Morgan was manipulating the mentally declining Lee
Morgan is facing charges including a felony count of false imprisonment, three counts of grand theft from an elder or dependent adult, a felony count of an aggravated white collar crime over $100,000 and one misdemeanor count of elder abuse, LAPD said.
