Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street investment bank that managed some of the money belonging to James Brown, the so-called Godfather of Soul, is being sued in a South Carolina court for failing to properly manage his account.

The lawsuit accuses the bank of helping to allow one of Brown’s managers to steal $12 million from him in the ten years leading up to the performer’s death in 2006.

Morgan Stanley insists that the accusations against it are without merit and that it will contest the case vigorously.

Brown’s estate has been at the centre of legal controversy. The 16-month scrap over his money has included allegations of embezzlement by some of his managers, wives, partners and offspring, as well as a fight over the veracity of the will.

It was drawn up by a lawyer who is serving 30 years in jail for murdering a strip-club dancer.

Two court-appointed trustees of Brown’s estate filed a lawsuit this week against Morgan Stanley at a court in South Carolina, the singer’s home state.

In court papers, the trustees allege that Joseph Lizzio, a Morgan Stanley banker who continues to work for the Wall Street group, breached his fiduciary duty to his client by failing to check with Brown whether an employee was allowed to withdraw funds from his account.

One of the lawyers advising the estate’s trustees told The Times: “Morgan Stanley had a piece of paper allegedly signed by James Brown. But our experts claim that the paper leaves a lot to be desired.”

James Gilreath, a lawyer at the Gilreath law firm in Greenville, South Carolina, said: “What we know is that about $10 million was put into that account and that it has now gone.

“He had a lot more money. In 1999 James Brown raised $26 million from a bond issue and some of that went into the Morgan Stanley account.

“He made between $5 million and $6 million touring Europe in 1996 as well. By the time he died he had very little; there was not a whole lot of money left.

“He owned his house but that will probably be made into a museum.”

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