Singer Vanessa Amorosi takes her own mum to court – claims hundreds of thousands of dollars have gone missing after mother took control of her finances when she was 17
- Vanessa Amorosi, 39, is taking her own mother to court over lost earnings
- Singer rose to fame after releasing the smash hit Absolutely Everybody in 1999
- Matter being played out in Victorian Supreme Court against Joyleen Robinson
Acclaimed singer Vanessa Amorosi is taking her own mother to court amid claims of ‘missing’ music earnings across her career worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Amorosi, 39, has filed legal action in the Victorian Supreme Court against Joyleen Robinson.
She is seeking proceeds from previous royalties, tour income and investments she alleges went missing, according to a statement of claim filed by Amorosi’s lawyers and obtained by The Age.
She also alleges her mother – who she is estranged from – took control of her finances in September of 1999 when she was 17, according to a statement of claim submitted by her lawyers.
Court documents reveal Ms Robinson later established a company named ‘Vanjoy’, where Amorosi and her mother owned half the shares.
Vanessa Amorosi has etched out an impressive music career across the world from 1999 onwards
Subsequent income Amorosi earnt performing was paid to Vanjoy, with financial transactions controlled by Ms Robinson, The Age reported.
In November of 1999, Amorosi released the hit track Absolutely Everybody, which catapulted her to instant music stardom.
She went onto perform at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 before touring overseas and around Australia.
Over the coming years, Amorosi alleges she asked her mother to protect her money, with Robinson believed to have set up further financial trust accounts.
In a key example outlined in the lawsuit, the companies controlled by Ms Robinson allegedly assigned Amorosi an income of $862,512 across 2000 and 2001.
The singer, now 39, used 390,000 to purchase a property in Narre Warren, in Melbourne’s south-east, at the time.
The remainder of the money is unaccounted for, according to court documents.
Amorosi is seeking to be made the sole trustee of the multiple trusts established by Robinson in addition to equitable compensation for money paid to others during her career, which has spanned for more than two decades.
The singer bases herself in Los Angeles and is believed to have not spoken to her mother in some time.
She also has the name ‘Joyleen’ tattooed on her shoulder.
In November of 1999, Vanessa Amorosi released the hit track Absolutely Everybody, which catapulted her to instant music stardom
