Sly Stone suing his former manager

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Recording star Sly Stone filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, claiming his former manager committed fraud and breach of contract.

The lawsuit also accused Jerry Goldstein of breach of fiduciary duty and conversion for diverting, converting and misappropriating Stone's royalties and assets for more than 20 years.

The suit demands a full accounting from royalty collection companies to determine actual amounts taken, but they are estimated to be in the $20-30 million range.

The suit also seeks punitive damages.

"On the eve of the Grammys that celebrate the best of our artists, we see a dark side of the music business where some of these artists are being robbed of their intellectual property and the fruits of their genius by unscrupulous people who prey on their trusting nature and lack of business and legal knowledge," Robert J. Allan of Allan Law Group -- who represents Stone -- said in a statement. "Not satisfied with the royalties he diverted from Sly Stone, Goldstein, without Stone's knowledge or consent, registered his trade name -- Sly and the Family Stone -- with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as owned by a Goldstein company and borrowed millions of dollars secured by Sly's future royalties."