Couple Accuses Chapman University of Elder Abuse, Bilking $12 Million in Donations

An elderly Corona Del Mar couple is suing Chapman University, alleging the university’s president took advantage of their age to bilk them for $12 million in donations.

In a lawsuit accusing Chapman University President James Doti of elder abuse and fraud, James and Catherine Emmi outline a campaign of flattery and false promises by the school. “Obviously, they are very upset and saddened by what happened,” said James Bohm, an attorney for the Emmis. “It’s a very upsetting situation.”

Chapman University responded with a sharp denial.

“Chapman University is deeply saddened by the misstatements in the complaint filed by the Emmis,” university spokeswoman Mary Platt said in a written statement. “Mr. James Emmi has been a close friend of both President James Doti and the University. The allegations do not reflect what occurred and completely mischaracterize the Emmis’ interactions with the University.”

James Emmi, a 98-year-old engineer, is a longtime philanthropist, funding scholarships and science education at schools such as Caltech and the University of California, Irvine. In 2008, he donated $50,000 to Chapman toward a new science building. It was then that Doti began showering the couple with attention, invites and requests for more money, the suit states.

After a $500,000 donation, the university named the couple its Citizens of the Year.

“After four years of Chapman’s constant solicitation efforts, which had garnered them at least half a million dollars in gifts, Chapman yet again approached the Emmis with a proposal to donate, at a minimum, $5 million to the Center for Science and Technology campaign,” the suit states.

When James Emmi declined, stating his age, declining health and the considerable burden of such a large donation, the university intensified its efforts to persuade the couple to give millions of dollars, offering to name a building in their honor and promising to complete construction in 2016 in time for James Emmi to see it, the lawsuit alleges.

“President Doti intentionally showered the Emmis with compliments and even went as far as requesting a photograph of James to place in his office because James was “like a brother to him,” the suit states. “Chapman, after noting signs of deterioration and vulnerability in James, preyed on Plaintiff James for a multi-million donation...Lured by Chapman’s promises and representations and vulnerable to persuasion and inducement because of his old age, James, against his will, agreed to donate $12 million to Chapman.”

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