Las Vegas law firm Paul Padda Law, PLLC, LLP has filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court against investment bank Morgan Stanley on behalf of Henderson, Nevada resident Susan King. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges fraud, conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

According to the complaint, Susan King, a single mother, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in and notified by doctors that she had six months to live. Concerned for the well-being of her teenage son and what might happen to him upon her death, Ms. King took her entire life’s savings and placed it into a trust account maintained by Morgan Stanley.

While suffering from cancer, Ms. King met with investment adviser Timothy McElroy of Morgan Stanley’s Las Vegas office who assured her that her life savings would be safe and well taken care of. However, according to the lawsuit, Morgan Stanley, without authorization from Susan King, provided the trustee of the account, Allen Spaulding, with an ATM card and check writing privileges. The lawsuit alleges that Spaulding then looted Susan King’s trust account stealing her entire life savings. The complaint further alleges that when Susan King sought information regarding the status of her life savings in the trust account, Morgan Stanley lied to her and covered up the fact that Spaulding had stolen all of her money. In fact, according to the lawsuit, Morgan Stanley threatened to call the police if Susan King kept making inquiries regarding her life savings.

Spaulding pled guilty to theft of Susan King’s money in January of this year and was sentenced by Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt to a sentence of between four to ten years. According to the lawsuit filed by Paul Padda Law, PLLC, Morgan Stanley failed to fully cooperate with the investigation into the theft of Susan King’s money and conspired with Spaulding to cover up the fact that her life savings had been misappropriated.

Broke and penniless, Susan King’s health remains perilous as she fights for justice to recover her stolen life savings. As noted in the complaint, Morgan Stanley was one of the financial institutions that received a $10 billion taxpayer bailout under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”). According to the lawsuit, Morgan Stanley came under fire for using bailout money to confer bonuses upon employees.