Richard Simmons’ brother Lenny is speaking out after being accused of spending over $843,000 from the late fitness guru’s trust by Simmons’ former housekeeper.
Back in December, a judge appointed Teresa Reveles Muro — Simmons’ friend and house manager of nearly four decades — as interim co-trustee of Simmons’ estate after months of battling Simmons’ family in court.
And now, Teresa has claimed in a new legal filing obtained by PEOPLE that Lenny has kept her in the dark regarding the trust administration despite her December appointment.
As per the filing, she accused Lenny of ‘spending $566,654 in litigation costs’ towards having her removed as co-trustee of Simmons’ estate. She also claimed that Lenny spent $277,200 to have ’24-hour armed security’ at Simmons’ $5 million LA home.
Teresa — who discovered Simmons dead at his home on July 13, 2024 — said that Lenny defied court orders by paying ‘a portion of these fees’ without her approval.
In response, Lenny fired back at Teresa’s claims in a statement to PEOPLE and revealed why certain payments were made ‘without Teresa’s approval.’
He also accused her of costing Simmons’ estate a ‘monumental amount of legal fees’ with her repeat court petitions.
Richard Simmons’ brother Lenny is speaking out after being accused of spending over $843,000 from the late fitness guru’s trust by Simmons’ former housekeeper; Lenny and Richard pictured
‘Teresa’s attorney has filed Petition after Petition with the courts,’ Lenny began. ‘We are obligated to provide answers to these court documents, which is costing the estate a monumental amount of legal fees.
‘I have requested that a neutral fiduciary (3rd party) be appointed by the court in cases where Teresa and I disagree on the administration of the estate to reduce legal fees.’
He then explained the need for armed security at Simmons’ multi-million dollar estate, which has yet to be sold since his untimely death at the residence in July 2024.
‘We do have 24 hr armed security because of several incidences of squatters attempting to establish residency in Richard’s home, as well as perpetrators jumping the fence in the middle of the night to gain access,’ Lenny said in Tuesday’s statement.
‘There was even a locksmith that showed up 3 weeks after Dicky passed, to change the locks because “We were hired because this guy said he inherited the house from Richard!” Security is a necessary expense until the home is sold.’
Lenny then addressed Teresa’s claims that over $843,000 in trust funds have been spent without her approval.
‘The reason that January monthly fees for December invoices were paid without Teresa’s approval (appointed Interim co-trustee in December), was because she held onto all invoices for over 5-7 different vendors for over a week without any response whatsoever,’ he alleged.
‘Requests to her estate attorney to approve went unanswered. These vendors had already provided services last month and required payment.
‘I simply did my fiduciary duty as Trustee and paid the invoices; so as not to expose the estate to liability,’ Lenny concluded.
The latest development in the battle over Simmons’ estate comes two months after a judge appointed Teresa as ‘interim co-trustee’ in December until another court hearing could be held in January 2025, as per Yahoo! News.
Teresa’s legal battle with the family kicked off in September when she filed a petition claiming she was pressured into relinquishing her role as a co-trustee of Simmons’ estate.
The distressed manager said that she was misled by Simmons’ brother Lenny and his wife Cathy into giving up the role while she was ‘at her most vulnerable’ while grieving for Richard, who was her longtime friend and employer.
She further added that she was confused about what the documents stated at the time and was never explicitly informed or advised on the issue.
Back in December, a judge appointed Teresa Reveles Muro — Simmons’ friend and house manager of nearly four decades — as interim co-trustee of Simmons’ estate after months of battling Simmons’ family in court; Richard and Teresa pictured
Teresa told court that she wanted to be named as a co-trustee. She also requested to have Lenny blocked from selling any of Simmons’ possessions or property and to prevent him from making money off his image in commercial endeavors until the issue is settled by the court.
Days later, the Simmons family released a statement of their own, noting that they were ‘heartbroken to learn of Teresa’s greed and insulted that she would diminish their three decades of supposed friendship’.
‘Richard’s message was always one of joy and positivity. He would be heartbroken to learn of Teresa’s greed and insulted that she would diminish their three decades of supposed friendship in such a public way. Her actions threaten to harm Richard’s incredible legacy, which we are working hard to preserve.
‘Richard took impeccable care of Teresa and made sure even after his passing that she was well taken care of.
‘She is a significant beneficiary of his will. She made an informed decision to decline to serve as co-trustee of the estate, which does not affect her status as a beneficiary at all.
‘The allegations in the petition are completely and demonstrably false, and we have informed her counsel of those facts.
‘Teresa’s request to be reinstated as co-trustee was declined because co-trustees must work together in the best interests of the estate, and Teresa has shown by her actions that she does not share those interests,’ the family told PEOPLE.
The lengthy statement also noted that Reveles allegedly continues to live at the instructor’s house despite having her own residence and has attempted to charge the estate for her living expenses.
In October, Teresa accused Lenny of defying the late fitness icon’s wishes after his death while seeking to suspend his powers as co-trustee of Simmons’ estate.
In court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Teresa claims that Lenny is colluding to ‘pillage his assets and legacy’ with Richard’s former manager-turned-foe Michael Catalano.
And now, Teresa has claimed in a new legal filing obtained by PEOPLE that Lenny has kept her in the dark regarding the trust administration despite her December appointment; Lenny and Richard pictured
In a statement to PEOPLE, Lenny fired back at Teresa’s claims and also accused her of costing Simmons’ estate a ‘monumental amount of legal fees’ with her repeat court petitions; Richard seen in 2013
The filings include a series of emails from Simmons to his accountant claiming Catalano has profited off his name and ‘ripped his life apart.’
Since being removed as co-trustee of Simmons’ estate in wake his July death, Teresa claims, Lenny has had ‘unchecked control’ over the trust and has defied his ‘explicit instructions’ by getting back into business with Catalano to ‘exploit Richard’s name and image’.
‘[Richard] would roll over in his grave if he knew what his brother Leonard has done since his tragic death on July 13, 2024,’ Teresa’s declaration states.
Teresa pointed to a recent incident on October 17 when she claims Lenny had given Catalano and a film crew access to Richard’s LA home in an apparent attempt to continue a media project he had previously opposed.
‘I was surprised to see Mr. Catalano at the Residence because Richard told me many times that he had ended his professional and personal relationship with Mr. Catalano and no longer trusted him,’ Teresa states in her declaration.
‘As of the time of his death, Richard had no relationship with Mr. Catalano and made clear to me that he wanted nothing to do with Mr. Catalano. Based on what he told me, Richard would have been very upset by Mr. Catalano’s presence at the Residence.’
A chain of emails submitted in the filings show Simmons vehemently turned down Catalano’s proposal to authorize a documentary film project on his life, saying he would ‘rather die’ than work with him again.
Speaking to his accountant Joel Levy on May 20, 2021, Simmons wrote: I curse the day i turned everything over to Michael. Which you encouraged. Me to do. I would [never] [do] another project with him. I would rather die. He owes me money for projects he sold and we will never get a dime of it. I have asked you to get me a list of how many products he has sol[d]. We will never see it. He will keep selling products and you will never k now about it.’
Simmons later doubled down on his desire to cut ties with Catalano, telling Levy: ‘I don’t want. A check from him. I don’t want him to do a documentary on me and | don’t want to ever hear his name Again.
‘He has ripped my life apart. | am sure he will do it without my permission. I want nothing from him.’
Teresa revealed Simmons’ feud with Catalano began in 2021 and had continued as recently as March 18, 2024, when Richard threatened legal action against him over his ‘unauthorized attempts’ to claim to the media that he still represented him.
The court documents were filed along with a declaration from Simmons’s former assistant Michele Matz supporting Teresa’s claims of Richard ending his relationship with his manager.
Additional emails seen by DailyMail.com show Simmons remained adamant about barring Catalano from his affairs in recent years and even in the months leading up to his death in July.
‘I want Michael to never ever make a dime off of me again. He has made money all of these years I am so sick and tired of talking about this,’ he said in a January 2023 email to Levy.
‘You have been my accountant for decades. But it seems that Michael is in control. I am so unhappy right now you immediately have to stop Michael from making money off of me’, he added.
Authorities said that Simmons’ July 2024 death was as result of complications from a fall he suffered in his bathroom the evening before he died, and that heart disease also was a factor; Richard seen in 2013
Teresa is asking the court to suspend Lenny’s authority to sell or exploit Simmons’ personal effects, name, image, likeness, or other intellectual property pending resolution of the appointment petition.
Authorities said that Simmons’ July 2024 death was as result of complications from a fall he suffered in his bathroom the evening before he died, and that heart disease also was a factor.
Simmons had fallen in the bathroom of his home on Friday, July 12 – which marked his 76th birthday – and Teresa had attempted to persuade him to seek immediate medical help, but he declined because it was his birthday.
Simmons said he didn’t want to go anywhere, informing her that he might go on July 13.
Teresa helped him safely get back to his bedroom, where she found him the following morning on the floor at around 10am, according to the outlet.
