A renowned psychiatrist from UC Irvine was duped into squandering at least $1.3 million of his family's fortune on a Nigeria Internet scam, according to a lawsuit recently filed by his son.
The son, also an Orange County doctor, said his father -- Dr. Louis A. Gottschalk -- gave as much as $3 million over a 10-year period in response to an Internet plea that promised the doctor a generous cut of a huge sum of cash trapped in African bank accounts in exchange for money advances.
The court documents, filed last month in Orange County Superior Court, allege Gottschalk even traveled to Africa to meet a shadowy figure known as "The General."
Gottschalk -- who at 89 still works at the UCI campus medical plaza that bears his name -- said in court papers that the losses were caused by "some bad investments."
Guy Gottschalk is asking a judge to remove his father as administrator of the $8-million family partnership that was set up for tax purposes after the death of his mother in 1993. A hearing is set for March 14.
The suit alleges that Louis Gottschalk destroyed bank records to cover up the amount of his losses.
"While it seems unlikely, even ludicrous, that a highly educated doctor like [Gottschalk] would fall prey to such an obvious con, that is exactly what happened," wrote Guy Gottschalk's attorney in court papers.
Louis Gottschalk and his attorney declined to comment, but they accuse Guy Gottschalk in court documents of carrying out an unspecified "vendetta" against his father. The son lost an earlier court effort to have a conservator oversee the family partnership.
Fred W. Anderson, a Santa Ana lawyer who represents Guy Gottschalk, said neither he nor his client would comment except to say, "This is an unfortunate and sad situation."
In court papers, Guy Gottschalk said his only motive was "to prevent Louis Gottschalk from continuing to be victimized by these devious Nigerian scams."
The Nigerian Internet scam -- known in some circles as 419 after the Nigerian statute that outlaws fraud -- is a long-running con that preys on people with e-mail accounts. Though there are scores of variations, the con begins with an unsolicited message from Nigeria or other African nation -- usually from an alleged government official, banker or businessman who needs to find a way to get millions of dollars out of his country.
