Buzz Aldrin is suing two of his children and a business manager, accusing them of misusing his credit cards, transferring money from an account and slandering him by saying he has dementia. Photo / AP
Buzz Aldrin is suing two of his children and a business manager, accusing them of misusing his credit cards, transferring money from an account and slandering him by saying he has dementia. Photo / AP
Legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin is suing two of his children and a former business manager, accusing them of misusing his credit cards, transferring money from an account and slandering him by saying he has dementia.
Aldrin's lawsuit filed earlier this month in a Florida state court came a week afterhis children, Andrew and Janice, filed a petition claiming their father was suffering from memory loss, delusions, paranoia and confusion.
They asked for the court to name them his legal guardians, saying Aldrin was associating with new friends who were trying to alienate Aldrin from his family and that he had been spending his assets at "an alarming rate".
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Photo / NASA
Court-appointed mental health experts planned to evaluate Aldrin in Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In April, the 88-year-old Aldrin underwent his own evaluation conducted by a geriatric psychiatrist at UCLA, who said Aldrin scored "superior to normal" for his age on tests.
"I also believe that he is perfectly capable of providing for his physical health needs, food, clothing and shelter, and is substantially able to manage his finances and resist fraud and undue influence," said Dr James Spar in a letter to Aldrin's lawyer.
In Aldrin's lawsuit, the former astronaut asked a judge to remove Andrew Aldrin from control of his financial affairs, social media accounts and several non-profit and business enterprises. Andrew Aldrin had been a trustee of his father's trust.
Buzz Aldrin said in the complaint that despite revoking the power of attorney he had given his son, Andrew Aldrin continued making financial decisions for him.
"Specifically, defendant Andrew Aldrin, as trustee, does not inform plaintiff of pending or future business transactions, removes large sums of moneys from plaintiff's accounts, and continues to represent plaintiff in business and social capacities despite plaintiff's repeated requests for such representations to be terminated," the lawsuit said.
While their father, Apollo II astronaut Buzz Aldrin is busy preparing for the July 16th blastoff for the historical landing on the moon, his kids Andrew and Janice, 11 fix a bike. Photo / Getty Images
The astronaut says his son has swiped nearly half a million dollars from his personal bank account in the past two years, reports The New York Post .
His son and daughter committed elder abuse by hiding "pertinent financial and business information" from him, according to the lawsuit.
They also took his valuable space memorabilia and blocked him from having relationships with women so they could control his money, court papers state.
Aldrin has been married three times.
Aldrin also accused his daughter, Janice, in the lawsuit of not acting in his financial interests and conspiracy, and he accused his former manager, Christina Korp, of fraud, exploitation of the elderly and unjust enrichment.
Also named in the lawsuit are several businesses and foundations run by the family. Aldrin's oldest son, James, isn't involved in the legal fight. In a statement, Andrew and Janice Aldrin said they're saddened by the "unjustifiable" lawsuit.
Left to right, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin. Photo / Getty Images
"If nothing else, our family is resilient and our ability to work together to solve problems and accomplish great things is strong," the Aldrin children said. "We love and respect our father very much and remain hopeful that we can rise above this situation and recover the strong relationship that built this foundation in the first place."
They said they would have no further comment.
Aldrin was a member of the Apollo 11 crew which landed the first two humans on the moon. Aldrin joined Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface in July 1969.
Earlier this month, Aldrin was at the White House for President Donald Trump's announcement directing the Pentagon to create the "Space Force" as a new military branch.
