Sinister scammers are making a play for late music legend Prince’s $156million estate, and tried to con RadarOnline.cominto backing their wild story – but our reporters saw through the scheme and have reported it to law enforcement.
The ruse centers on a bogus claim that the Purple Rain rocker, born Prince Rogers Nelson, fathered an illegitimate daughter named Alli Cazaam Nelson on October 31, 2009 – about seven years before his 2016 fentanyl overdose death at 57 at his Paisley Park mansion in Minnesota.
A RadarOnline.comsearch has revealed that no one with that name was born on that date. According to an email sent to RadarOnline.comon September 21, the girl, who would now be 15, shunned the probate “circus” immediately following Prince’s death because her attorneys felt a 7-year-old couldn’t handle the drama.
The Prince ‘Love Child’ Scam Explained
Scammers forged birth and parentage records claiming Prince fathered Alli Cazaam Nelson in 2009.
The sources also suspiciously insisted official records proving her parentage were “legally shielded from probate proceedings” in Brooklyn, New York. The email also claimed Alli insisted she has proof of “a secret revocable trust,” as well as a “charitable funding account,” set up by Prince, who also supposedly provided the girl with two handpicked bodyguards.
The scammers even ginned up a phony New York City birth certificate, as well as an “unredacted” Minnesota Voluntary Recognition of Parentage application, in which Prince allegedly officially recorded his paternity.
“She is the rebirth of Prince,” one message boasted before offering up an emailed photo of the girl as proof of the resemblance. “She looks, sings, plays, acts, and talks exactly like him.”
Fraudsters slipped up after citing a fake insurance policy tied to a nonexistent ‘Prince Warner Media, LLC’ pension.
But the scammers slipped up when they cited a life insurance policy naming the girl as heir to the artist’s Prince Warner Media, LLC pension – because no such company exists.
They also identified a Minnesota lawyer as her counsel, but our calls to that person were never returned.
The fraudsters even rigged their tip to appear as if it was sent by a prominent New York City journalist. Fortunately, one of RadarOnline.com‘sreporters had worked closely with that scribe and was able to promptly call him.
The veteran reporter said he’d never emailed our tip line – and the address from which the message had originated wasn’t his.
An ‘Incredibly Sophisticated Scam’
Attorney Pete Gleason called the fake Prince daughter plot an ‘incredibly sophisticated scam.’
Additionally, he said his current media organization was contacted by the scammers, and reporters had also confirmed that the story was bogus.
As readers of RadarOnline.comknow, twice-divorced and childless Prince died without a will, and his late sister and five half-siblings were named as heirs. In 2022, the estate was settled, dividing his assets between Prince Legacy – owned by half of his heirs and their advisors – and Prince OAT Holdings LLC, owned by the music company Primary Wave, which bought a majority stake of the remaining siblings’ interests.
New York defense attorney Pete Gleason called the fake Prince daughter plot an “incredibly sophisticated scam.”
He added: “They spun a very powerful, plausible, and engaging tale and supported it with fake, yet official-looking documents. It’s a good thing RadarOnline.comgot to the bottom of the scam before they got any farther.”
Elvis’ Granddaughter Deals With Similar Fraud Attempt
Riley Keough stopped a fraudulent Graceland loan claim tied to Lisa Marie Presley’s estate.
Sources said the ploy echoes a 2024 attempt to fleece Elvis Presley’s heirs out of his longtime Tennessee home, Graceland, by using a false claim that his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, had taken out a $3.8million loan against the property before her January 2023 death.
That plot was ultimately foiled by Elvis’ grandkid, Riley Keough, Lisa Marie’s firstborn, who filed a lawsuit just before a foreclosure sale that exposed the loan documents as fraudulent.
Matthew Erskine, a trusts and estates attorney, says it’s unclear whether the Prince scam would’ve worked.
The FBI was alerted after the uncovering of $156million Prince estate scam.
“Generally, probate estates have a short statute of limitations,” he said. “Every state is different, but in some, the period can be as little as two to four weeks.”
However, Erskine noted “exceptions” can be made for minors, who can petition a court to reopen a settlement agreement after they turn 18.
RadarOnline.comnotified the FBI of the scam and turned over all emails sent by the scammers.
“You guys did good work,” commended Paul Huebl, a Chicago police officer turned Hollywood private eye. “Someone is making a play for Prince’s estate – and they must be exposed before it’s too late.”
