Abused Actor Sues Stepson

With a boyish face and 5'3" frame, it seemed like Mickey Rooney would never grow old. But, the 90-year-old Hollywood legend filed an elder abuse lawsuit against Rooney's stepson, Chris Aber, and Aber's wife, Christina, alleging financial exploitation and verbal abuse over the past ten years.

In March 2011, Rooney testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging imploring Senators to take action against elder abuse because "if it happened to me, it can happen to anyone."

According to the complaint, Aber became a signatory on all of Rooney's personal and business financial accounts and then diverted Rooney's mail to a post office box to allow him to fund an extravagant lifestyle without Rooney's knowledge.  Under Aber's threats of financial collapse, Rooney continued to perform, earning income for unpaid taxes and credit card bills Aber incurred under Rooney's name.

Rooney's complaint also names co-conspirators, including Jessie Heuer who ran the website mickeyrooneyfanclub.com to market and sell unauthorized copies of items belonging to Rooney, without Rooney's consent.