‘RHOC’ Vicki Gunvalson Slammed With Another Elder Abuse and Fraud Lawsuit

Vicki Gunvalson is facing another lawsuit, and it looks like the star has a lot of financial redemption to do.

The "Real Housewives of Orange County" star was served with not one but two court papers accusing her of a series of financial misconducts.

The plaintiff, Diane Field, accused Vicki Gunvalson and some other investment and insurance companies of fraud, and these accusations are quite hefty.

Diane sued Gunvalson for allegedly encouraging her and her husband, George Field, to invest 90% of their combined net worth in stocks and mutual funds with a firm in Orange County, California.

The lawsuit, filed in May, also addressed Allianz Life Insurance Company, Coto Insurance & Financial Services, and another investment company.

Initially, the Fields were managing their finances well. They were able to live comfortably on their work salaries and pensions, which meant they didn't need to withdraw money from their stocks and mutual funds accounts, except for taxes.

However, in 2002, 85-year-old George was involved in a bicycle accident that left him with severe injuries, prompting Diane to take charge of their finances, leading to a sum of $6 million.

Per In Touch the lofty sum was kept in an investment account, and in a separate account, they saved money for their daughter.

Diane and Gunvalson then met in 2019 after the former's friend scheduled an appointment with the reality star to talk about investments. However, Diane stated that the “Real Housewives of Orange County” star was reluctant to work with her friend as she did not have at least $500,000 to invest.

Gunvalson reportedly told Diane she could help her manage her finances and proposed that she invest in Allianz annuities.

Diane rejected the offer and explained that she was more comfortable in the stock market because she and her husband's finances had always been in stocks and mutual funds, which was her forte.

Gunvalson reportedly encouraged Diane to talk to her business partner Ali, who had knowledge of the stock market, and together they could jointly put her in a safer, diversified plan that would also ensure she pays lower taxes.

The lower tax offer seemed attractive to Diane, who accepted it and agreed to meet Ali with Gunvalson, where they discussed increasing future/potential financial capital for her children.

Diane noted in the suit that George's health was failing rapidly at that time, which made her vulnerable enough to trust the “RHOC” alum and Ali, as they appeared sincere and concerned about her best interest.

The conversation then turned to the investment company Allianz 222 Annuity, which Ali and Gunvalson convinced Diane to consider investing in as it was safe, conservative, and promised to make profits.

Diane declared that Ali convinced her to move funds in stocks to an outside firm managed under him at Fidelity Investments. He also reportedly had her take out a life insurance policy without telling her it costs $300,000 annually.

The victim noted, following Gunvalson's convincing "fraudulent sales tactics and her promises that this annuity would help her lower income taxes," that she transferred the money into the Allianz 222 Indexed Annuity.

By February 2022, she paid another $300,000 premium on the life insurance policy and raised questions about why she had to make another payment. However, she still went through with it as she was mourning her husband's death and recovering from her own hip surgery.

In August of the same year, she decided to move the money from the account managed by Ali. By December, she expressed her concerns over the investment, claiming that she did think she made the best decision and may be too old to enjoy her profits.

Her complaints led to an adjustment of her life insurance policy from $300,000 to $100,000 in April 2023.

After that, Gunvalson repeatedly contacted her in March and April 2024 to remind her of her $100k payment. The reality star asked if she would like to take the money out of her stocks and bonds accounts so Gunvalson could get the payment into Allianz for her like she usually did.

In April 2024, Diane contacted Allianz directly to find out the due date on her investment. A representative told her she had over $600,000 in her account since she was paying $300,000 a year in premiums.

The rep instructed Diane not to send any more payments because of the excess in her account. The entire exchange led Diane to accuse Gunvalson and Ali of financial elder abuse for entering harmful deals.

This is not the businesswoman’s first rodeo. She was served court papers by an 82-year-old woman named Joan Lile in 2018 for alleged fraud over a life insurance policy she was sold.

However, the reality star's lawyer denied the claims and described them as false, noting that "Gunvalson has always acted professionally and with the utmost truthfulness and integrity in every transaction that she acted as an insurance agent for her clients."

Her legal rep declared that she has never engaged in any fraudulent conduct nor "misrepresented any terms of any policy."

The false allegations in the lawsuit were vehemently denied and the suit was dismissed months later. However, Diane's lawsuit remains active.

While the star was handling business with Diane in 2021, she was also tending to personal affairs in the relationship department. Per The Blast, Gunvalson was engaged to Steve Lodge in 2019 after meeting at a charity event in 2016 and began dating.

The pair broke up the engagement in 2021 after two years of engagement and allegations of Lodge cheating on her.

Lodge did not only lose his partner following the split, but he also lost his bid to run for the Governor of California in a special election.