Swedish rocker YNGWIE MALMSTEEN has been awarded $820,000 (£566,000) damages by a New York court after he was allegedly defrauded by his former accountant and manager. Malmsteen was forced to sell off his collection of beloved guitars to pay his debts after he was allegedly caught up in a multi-million dollar scam.
The musician filed legal action against his former manager, James Lewis, and his financial adviser, Michael Mitnick, who he claims enabled the alleged embezzlement.
The papers reveal that Malmsteen accused Mitnick of encouraging him to sign a deal which saw all of his income channelled into one bank account, controlled by the pair.
And now a Manhattan court has awarded the star substantial damages in relation to the case involving Mitnick.
The $2.4 million (£1.66 million) lawsuit filed against Lewis is still pending.
Mitnick was previously embroiled in controversy when rapper Lil' Kim blamed him for causing her tax problems during her 2005 perjury trial.