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Luke Wilson is accusing his former assistant, Charles Lodi, of committing identity theft. The actor filed a lawsuit in California on Thursday claiming that Lodi stole more than $75,000 worth of personal items and made unauthorized credit card purchases totaling $90,000, running up bills on Wilson’s accounts.
According to the lawsuit, Lodi was hired by Wilson’s production company in 2011 to perform various tasks like booking flights and making purchases for the actor. Lodi was given compensation for his work and also lived free-of-charge in a place Wilson provided for him. “Wilson trusted Mr. Lodi as his friend, and believed Mr. Lodi had his best interest at heart,” reads the complaint.
The court filing explains, “Because Defendant’s duties as Mr. Wilson’s personal assistant required Mr. Lodi to make purchases on Mr. Wilson’s behalf for such things as travel arrangements to and from location and other personal errands, Mr. Lodi was added as an authorized signatory on Mr. Wilson’s personal Visa credit card.” And that proved to be disastrous, according to the star.
The lawsuit alleges that Lodi took advantage of Wilson, using the actor’s personal credit cards to rent vacation homes, book first class flights and pay for a wedding. None of the purchases was authorized by Wilson. The actor also claims Lodi gained access to his other credit cards and account information with online retailers. “Though some of these charges were made on the Visa card, Defendant made purchase on other credit cards that were only in Mr. Wilson’s name, in some cases posing as Mr. Wilson,” says the lawsuit.
Wilson learned of Lodi’s “betrayal” in 2014 and fired him. At the time, he agreed to forgo litigation if Lodi repaid some of the stolen money, and the ex-staffer agreed. But now Wilson is going after Lodi for allegedly violating the agreement. He’s demanding a liquidated judgment of $60,000, plus interest, for the breach of contract, an additional $75,000 for invasion of privacy, and the return of personal property he claims Lodi still has in his possession.
