Richard Simmons' Brother Lenny Slams Housekeeper's Claim He Spent $843K from Late Fitness Guru's Trust (Exclusive)

Richard Simmons' brother is shutting down Simmons' longtime house manager's claims that he has spent over $843K from the late fitness guru’s trust behind her back since she was appointed interim co-trustee.

In a new court filing obtained by PEOPLE, Teresa Reveles — who served as Simmons' house manager and friend for 36 years — claimed Simmons' brother Leonard (Lenny) Simmons has been keeping her in the dark with the trust administration.

Reveles accused Lenny of spending $566,654 in litigation costs directed at getting her removed from her role as co-trustee of Simmons' estate, as well as $277,200 on 24-hour armed security at Richards home, according to court documents.

Additionally, Reveles claimed that a portion of these fees were paid without her approval.

Lenny is now responding to Reveles’ latest court filing in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE.

“Teresa’s attorney has filed Petition after Petition with the courts. We are obligated to provide answers to these court documents, which is costing the estate a monumental amount of legal fees,” he tells PEOPLE. “I have requested that a neutral fiduciary (3rd party) be appointed by the court in cases where Teresa and I disagree on the administration of the estate to reduce legal fees.”

Related: Richard Simmons' Housekeeper Petitions to Be Restated as Co-Trustee of Fitness Guru's Estate

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“We do have 24 hr armed security because of several incidences of squatters attempting to establish residency in Richard’s home, as well as perpetrators jumping the fence in the middle of the night to gain access,” the statement continued. “There was even a locksmith that showed up 3 weeks after Dicky passed, to change the locks because ‘We were hired because this guy said he inherited the house from Richard!’ Security is a necessary expense until the home is sold.”

“The reason that January monthly fees for December invoices were paid without Teresa’s approval (appointed Interim co-trustee in December), was because she held onto all invoices for over 5-7 different vendors for over a week without any response whatsoever,” he ended. “Requests to her estate attorney to approve went unanswered. These vendors had already provided services last month and required payment. I simply did my fiduciary duty as Trustee and paid the invoices; so as not to expose the estate to liability.”

A judge recently ruled that Reveles and Lenny are to work together until a final decision is reached regarding her petition to be reappointed as co-trustee.

Read the original article on People