Erik von Detten, the former Disney star known for his roles in “The Princess Diaries” and “Brink! faces trial for elder abuse and fraud after an elderly couple claimed he persuaded them to invest more than $2 million of their retirement savings in grossly overpriced gold coins.
The lawsuit, filed in California in May, names von Detten, 44, and his employer, precious metals company Rosland Capital, as defendants. Sheila Greenberg, 85, and her husband, Norman Greenberg, 97, say they lost about $900,000 after purchasing gold coins through the company.
Rosland Capital ceased operations and declared bankruptcy in July, listing some $64 million in liabilities and only $500,000 in assets. According to documents filed in the bankruptcy case, the company has faced increased scrutiny from the New York Attorney General’s Office and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The creditors’ committee is seeking to subpoena Von Detten as part of its investigation into the company’s bankruptcy, saying it appears he “played an instrumental role in the debtor’s affairs and its financial collapse.”
“The Greenbergs’ story is not unique,” says the creditors’ committee. “This is one of hundreds. Creditors, including other Committee members, described remarkably similar experiences: trust cultivated, expertise professed, confidence encouraged, and substantial savings ultimately lost with no information about where their money was going.”
Rosland advertised on Fox News and Newsmax with spots featuring actor William Devane, who touted gold coins as a hedge against inflation and other sources of instability. Retirees were encouraged to convert their IRAs to gold-backed funds and were offered “a free vault to store your gold.”
According to their lawsuit, the Greenbergs contacted Rosland Capital in 2020 after seeing an advertisement on television. They were linked to von Detten, who joined the company in 2018 after largely stepping away from acting.
The Greenbergs say they told von Detten they had limited knowledge of the gold market but had about $2 million in retirement savings. They claim von Detten presented himself as an experienced advisor and encouraged them to purchase Lady Liberty gold coins as an investment.
Von Detten did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rosland reported revenue of $151 million in 2021. But according to the company’s first day filing in bankruptcy court, the company suffered “excessive cash outflows” and accumulated net losses of $24 million from 2022 to 2025. The rising gold price also strained the company’s business, unable to meet customer demand, leading to a delay orders lasting several months.
“During this interval, the price of gold generally increased dramatically, such that the debtor ended up paying more for the gold product than the customer paid the debtor for that product,” the company’s accountants reported. “This situation was not sustainable and the debtor lost money quickly.”
Salespeople received between 15 and 35% of the profit on each order, whether or not that order was refunded. When the company ceased operations, there were approximately 470 messages and voicemails demanding refunds or demanding delivery of gold products, according to the first-day motion.
The creditors’ committee, however, does not seem to believe that the company simply went bankrupt due to deteriorating market conditions.
“The Committee believes that the facts reveal something far more troubling: a company that preyed on a vulnerable population, stole its customers’ money as its ability to operate collapsed, lied to its own customers about the use of their money, and ultimately left creditors wondering whether those funds had been misused, embezzled, transferred to insiders or affiliates, or simply consumed to keep the scheme alive,” committee attorneys wrote.
Von Detten was a familiar face on Disney productions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He starred as the title character in the 1998 Disney original film, “Brink!” ” and played Josh Bryant, the love interest of Anne Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis, in 2001’s “The Princess Diaries.”
He also played Sid Phillips, the toy-destroying neighbor in “Toy Story” and Erwin Lawson in the Disney animated series “Recess.” His other credits include “Escape to Witch Mountain,” “So Weird,” and “Complete Savages.”
Von Detten largely retired from acting around 2010, later focusing on sales and financial services. He briefly reprized his role as Sid in “Toy Story 4.”
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