Princess Diaries star faces lawsuit over alleged $2m gold scam targeting elderly couple

Former Disney actor Erik von Detten is facing a lawsuit after an elderly couple accused him and precious metals firm Rosland Capital of misleading them into investing more than $2 million in gold coins.

Erik Von Detten, who starred in The Princess Diaries and Brink!, worked as an account representative at Rosland Capital. The lawsuit alleges that he helped persuade Sheila Greenberg, 85, and her husband, Norman Greenberg, 97, to put their retirement savings into gold investments that were worth significantly less than they paid.

As per the Los Angeles Times, the couple contacted Rosland Capital after seeing its adverts on TV. The filing states, “The advertisements warn of dire consequences facing retirees in the United States, coupled with concerns like runaway debt, inflation, political turmoil and the ever-devaluing dollar.”

The lawsuit was filed in May 2026 and accuses both Von Detten and the company of fraud. According to the court documents obtained by The Times, the Greenbergs asked Rosland Capital for its “top advisor” and were connected with Von Detten.

The couple allegedly told him they had never invested in gold or other precious metals before. They also explained that they were elderly and wanted someone knowledgeable and trustworthy to help them protect their retirement savings.

The lawsuit states, “They told Von Detten that they wanted a trusted and knowledgeable advisor. And after speaking with him they were so sufficiently impressed that they disclosed that their combined Traditional IRA account balances were in excess of $2,000,000.”

Allegedly, he told them to leave the decision-making up to him and allegedly assured them that he was “very knowledgeable in precious metals and precious metal IRA accounts and would make very specific recommendations that meet the Greenbergs’ needs.”

However, the couple claim things took a costly turn after they followed his advice.

They allegedly paid $2.1 million for gold coins worth $1.36 million

The Greenbergs claim Von Detten persuaded them to transfer all the money in their traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) into gold IRAs. They allegedly spent $2,146,958.22 on gold coins that were worth approximately $1,360,925. That is a difference of around $786,000, meaning the coins were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the amount the couple paid.

The lawsuit describes their alleged experience, saying they made the purchase “without any notion that in a matter of just two weeks” their retirement accounts had been sapped of more than $780,000.

And that was not the end of it. After their retirement accounts had been invested in gold, the couple claim Von Detten persuaded them to invest another $114,000 through a family trust. The lawsuit alleges that the couple were misled throughout the process. 

Rosland Capital filed for bankruptcy in July 2026. The company is also named in the Greenbergs’ lawsuit. 

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