EXCLUSIVE: Jon Gosselin Secretly Empties Kate's Bank Account, Now She's Headed To Court
Oct. 4 2009, Published 7:35 a.m. ET
At the same time he was telling a national TV audience that he wanted to put the brakes on his divorce and establish a better relationship with his wife, Jon Gosselin was secretly emptying their bank account, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
Jon violated an arbitrator's rules and pulled hundreds of thousands of dollars out of his joint account with Kate, leaving her with only $1,000, a RadarOnline.com investigation uncovered.
It's the most dramatic turn yet in what has been a public brawl of a divorce, with Jon hiring a controversial lawyer and trying to repair his public image in the past few weeks.
Click here for photos of Jon with fans at his home
He appeared on Larry King Live last week with his lawyer Mark Heller and said he had an epiphany, adding: "I want Kate and I to mediate. I want us to become friends."
But within hours of uttering those words, Jon was withdrawing several hundred thousand dollars from his joint bank account with Kate without her knowledge, leaving his estranged wife with only $1,000.
RadarOnline.com has confirmed with multiple sources that Kate routinely pays the family bills from that bank account.
Click here for photos of Kate picking up the kids from school
When Kate discovered what happened she engaged a high-powered lawyer who immediately sent Jon a letter, demanding he return the money to the bank account. And RadarOnline.com has learned that another lawyer for Kate will go to court in Pennsylvania on Monday to file papers demanding the money be returned.
Multiple sources tell RadarOnline.com that Jon's actions were in violation of the Gosselin divorce arbitrator's guidelines.
Another bank account, set up for the Gosselin children, was untouched.
Click her to see photos of Kate picnicking with the kids
The scandal, which has heightened acrimony in the divorce to record levels, comes right after Jon and Kate had appeared to informally work out a custody schedule.
But now the divorce has taken another combative turn, with money becoming the new battleground.
Kate will appear on NBC's Today Show early this week in an appearance that was scheduled before the latest divorce bombshell.
Jon recently demanded that TLC stop filming his children -- after the network announced it was severely limiting his role on Jon & Kate Plus 8 and changing the show title to Kate Plus 8.
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Read exclusive report on Jon's lawyer promising to kill TLC show
Jon's lawyer Heller, in words that are sure to be repeated in light of the bank account controversy, told Kate's lawyer Mark Momjian on Larry King Live, "(Your) focus seems to be money, seems to be the show going on. This man (Jon) doesn't care about the money."
Watch RadarOnline.com video where Jon says it's "ridiculous" that show is harming kids!
Yet money, and Jon's actions in pulling out virtually all of the money from the joint bank account, is now the biggest scandal in a series of controversies.
Click here to see the first and only photos of Jon and girlfriend Hailey Glassman kissing
On Larry King Live last week Jon said he had made mistakes in the past but was determined to try to make things better. "I'm here to apologize to Kate. I'm here to apologize to a lot of people. I have made mistakes," he said.
Click here to see photos of Jon playing with the kids as TLC cameras roll
Jon's lawyer Heller even said Jon wants to be a role model. "Divorcing couples have the power to make healthy and appropriate decisions for themselves when they're ending the marriage, and to take into most concern and consideration the well-being of their children and family values. And Jon is determined to do that and to become a model for other divorcing families," Heller said on TV.
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