Louis Angelos accuses brother, mother of draining nearly $65 million of Peter Angelos’ fortune

Louis Angelos alleged this week that his brother and mother drained tens of millions of dollars from a bank account that originally belonged to his father, Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, and secretly bought additional shares of the franchise.

Louis Angelos asserts in an amended complaint filed on Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court that his mother, Georgia Angelos, and brother, John Angelos, have failed his father and “shirked their responsibilities and breached their legal duties, in multiple, catastrophic ways.”

According to the lawsuit, John Angelos and Georgia Angelos “plundered” a bank account that initially contained more than $65 million shortly after Peter Angelos became incapacitated due to health issues. The account now contains a little more than $400,000, according to the complaint.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit alleges, John Angelos and Georgia Angelos secretly acquired additional ownership in the Orioles at “a greatly discounted price” and kept Louis Angelos in the dark. The two did so through making Peter Angelos incur tens of millions of dollars worth of debt for which he is solely responsible — though he would not receive any benefit from a potential sale.

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“In short,” the lawsuit reads, “as a result of John and Georgia’s actions, the man who created all of the family wealth will be left with no practical means of meeting his most basic needs, and his estate plan has been obliterated.”

Jeffrey Nusinov, Louis Angelos’ attorney, declined to comment.

In an email, Steven Silverman, John Angelos’ attorney, said “defense counsel will respond to the latest round of falsehoods and fabrications in due course.”

“The fact that Louis Angelos stole his revered father’s law firm one day, sued his 80-year-old mother and own brother the next day to seize control of all his father’s assets and now publicly attacks them with vicious accusations says all you need to know about Louis Angelos,” said Doug Gansler, Georgia Angelos’ attorney. “These desperate allegations do nothing to salvage his misguided case.”

Peter Angelos had a bank account at Wells Fargo that contained more than $65 million before he collapsed on Oct. 13, 2017, due to a failure of his aortic valve, according to the complaint.

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Four days later, the lawsuit states, Peter Angelos added Georgia Angelos to the account in case his condition worsened and rendered him incapable of handling the money. By 2020, she made John Angelos the account’s power of attorney, and since then, the account has been drained to little more than $400,000.

Louis Angelos argues that the diminishing funds were transferred for his brother’s and mother’s personal benefit.

For instance, they transferred $26.75 million into a checking account in Georgia Angelos’ name, the lawsuit asserts. That’s along with about $1.7 million going to a real estate attorney in Saratoga Springs, New York, the lawsuit claims, so John Angelos could buy a house there.

Money was also drained, the lawsuit alleges, to protect assets from class-action lawsuits against the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos related to its handling of an asbestos case.

John Angelos, the lawsuit asserts, sought to protect the family fortune by transferring his father’s assets out of his name. He viewed the law firm as a liability, and, the complaint alleges, “Georgia enthusiastically joined his effort to shield Peter’s wealth from creditors by diverting it to their own use and benefit.”

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In 2021, John Angelos and Georgia Angelos bought part of a minority owner’s share in the Orioles. The purchase, though, was solely for the benefit of John Angelos, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges John Angelos and Georgia Angelos used Peter Angelos’ assets to borrow funds for the purchase. Last week, when John Angelos announced a $5 million commitment to the CollegeBound Foundation, he said his family owns 70% of the Orioles.

They made the purchase in secret, the lawsuit claims, and did not tell Louis Angelos. If he had been informed, he could have rejected the sale, according to the lawsuit.

The family drama spilled into public view when Louis Angelos in 2022 filed a lawsuit against his brother and his mother. Two months later, Georgia Angelos sued Louis Angelos, claiming that he sold his father’s law firm to himself in a move that amounted to elder abuse.

Judge Keith R. Truffer is set on Thursday to preside over a hearing in the case. Louis Angelos’ attorneys, though, have asked for a postponement.

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andy.kostka@thebaltimorebanner.com

dylan.segalbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com