Melanie Beth Sterling: Fraud Allegations and $38.5M Lawsuit

The Melanie Beth Sterling lawsuit is a $38.5 million civil fraud case filed by Arkansas manufacturing executive Fred Michael Brunner, who alleges the former Las Vegas exotic dancer defrauded him of millions during a ten-year relationship. Sterling denies the allegations and calls the suit “sour grapes” from a failed relationship. After a stop in Arkansas courts, the case is now in Clark County District Court in Nevada, where a judge denied Sterling’s motion to dismiss in November 2025.¹

What Brunner Alleges

Brunner says he met Sterling at a Las Vegas gentlemen’s club in June 2014, where she was working as a dancer. His complaint alleges that during a private dance Sterling learned he “was far wealthier than her normal patrons” and pursued a relationship with the intent to defraud him.² He says he believed the relationship was exclusive and monogamous and that Sterling was his “soulmate.”³

Over the decade that followed, Brunner alleges Sterling made more than 100 requests for financial support and that he sent her checks totaling more than $2.1 million.² News 3 Las Vegas placed his total outlay above $3 million once other expenses are counted.³ The complaint describes five-figure monthly payments, cosmetic surgeries, gifts, trips, and “lavish dinners, parties, trips and purchases.”

The largest single item is a home. In 2019, Brunner funded the purchase of a $720,000 house in the south Las Vegas valley, placed in Sterling’s name and transferred about a week later into the Melanie B. Sterling Living Trust.⁴ The property’s value has reportedly nearly doubled since.

Brunner says he did not realize he had been deceived until January 2024, when he says he learned Sterling had been involved in another relationship for most or all of their time together.³ The complaint cites a 2021 incident in which Sterling told Brunner she was ill and could not see him, then appeared on social media at The Capital Grille in Las Vegas with co-defendant Shanta Cotright.²

How Sterling Is Responding

Sterling’s attorney, Jim Jimmerson, has framed the case as an ex-boyfriend’s regret rather than fraud. Her filings acknowledge the relationship but state the couple was never married, never engaged, and never lived together, and that Sterling “was not naive” and understood from the start that Brunner “was not the monogamous type.”²

The defense argues that without a marital or contractual tie, Sterling had no legal obligation over how she conducted her personal life or how she spent money Brunner voluntarily gave her. The motion to dismiss states: “Plaintiff alleges that he fell victim to a 10-year relationship scam. Haven’t we all. The difference is that everyone else does not sue their ex claiming that they were duped into spending money on them when the relationship does not work out in the end.”²

In an Arkansas filing, Sterling said the lawsuit was “riddled with falsehoods” and filed “solely for purposes of harassment” after the relationship ended.⁵

The Co-Defendant

Shanta Cotright is named as a co-defendant, accused of conspiring with Sterling to defraud Brunner. The complaint alleges Cotright knew about the relationship with Brunner throughout, maintained a romantic relationship with Sterling during the same period, and shared in the spending on dining, travel, and other expenses.² Cotright is represented by the same attorney as Sterling.

From Arkansas to Nevada

Brunner first filed suit in Washington County Circuit Court in Arkansas on June 14, 2024, under case number 72CV-24-2015, naming Sterling individually and as trustee of the Melanie B. Sterling Living Trust. A lis pendens notice filed on July 1, 2024, flagged the Las Vegas property.⁶

The Arkansas case was dismissed on June 2, 2025, and the lis pendens on the property was released on July 7, 2025.⁶ A judge determined the case should be heard in Nevada, where Sterling lives and where the property and much of the relevant conduct are located. Brunner refiled in Clark County District Court in July 2025, seeking $3.5 million in compensatory damages and $35 million in punitive damages.²

Where the Case Stands Now

Sterling filed a motion to dismiss the Nevada case on August 26, 2025. According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a judge denied that motion in November 2025, meaning the lawsuit will proceed. The same report indicated Brunner’s attorneys plan to amend the complaint.¹ No trial date has been publicly reported.

Who Fred Brunner Is

Fred Michael Brunner is the president of Brunner & Lay Inc., a Springdale, Arkansas manufacturer of heavy bits used in mining and excavation. Founded in 1882, the company is described as the world’s leading manufacturer of pavement breaker tools. Brunner became president in 1988 as the fourth generation of his family to run the business and inherited controlling interest after his father’s death in 2008.⁴

1
Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Northwest Arkansas Man’s Lawsuit Against Las Vegas Dancer Will Proceed
2
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas Exotic Dancer’s Attorney Says Ex-Boyfriend’s Lawsuit Is Sour Grapes
3
News 3 Las Vegas. Arkansas Man Sues Las Vegas Dancer for $38.5 Million in Alleged Relationship Fraud
4
Arkansas Business. Arkansas Businessman Sues Exotic Dancer for $3M in Alleged Fraud Case
5
Arkansas Business. Las Vegas Dancer Responds to Fraud Lawsuit From Arkansas Businessman
6
Arkansas Courts. Fred Michael Brunner v. Melanie Beth Sterling, 72CV-24-2015