Nicolas Cage has filed suit against his former business manager, claiming that Samuel Levin’s poor investment choices and failure to pay Cage’s taxes led him “down a path toward financial ruin.”

Nicolas Cage (photo by Kristin Standafer)

“Levin placed Cage in numerous highly speculative and risky real estate investments,” said the complaint.

As a result of the financial mismanagement, Cage has been “forced to dispose of significant assets,” according to the lawsuit. Among the properties on sale are three castles in Bavaria, Germany, and Bath and Somerset, England, as well as Dean Martin’s former mansion in Bel Air, Calif. Also on sale are novelist Anne Rice’s former home in New Orleans and a New Orleans mansion described as the “most haunted house in the United States.” Other properties on the block include homes in New York and Las Vegas, and a 132-foot yacht.

The 45-year-old Academy Award-winning actor hired Levin’s firm, Levin & Co. Management in 2001, but discharged him this year. Cage is asking for over $19 million in damages.

In July, the IRS filed a $6,257,000 tax lien against Cage (see Nicolas Cage Hit with $6.2 Million Tax Lien). Last year, he agreed to pay $666,000 plus interest after the IRS said he and his company had improperly deducted $3.3 million in personal expenses for limousines, meals, gifts and a Gulfstream jet between 2002 and 2004 (see Nicolas Cage Pays $666,000+ to Settle with IRS).