Summary:

Dominique Moceanu, an Olympic gold medalist, was having trouble with her parents,  so she decided, at age 17, to sue them.  She claimed that all the money that she gained from her Olympic gold medal  and the endorsements that soon followed was put into a gym that was mismanaged by her parents, mainly her father.  She asserted that her father made a lot of bad investments which resulted in the empyting of her trust fund, leaving her without any money.  Moceanu's father reportedly put over four million dollars into the gym, which Moceanu used after her coach, Bela Karolyi, retired.   Moceanu did not want to deal with her parents anymore, so she decided to leave them.

She got a restraining order against her father because she alleged that he had beat her on several occassions.  She also has allegations that her father is involved in a murder plot of one of her friends and her coach.  After hearing this information, a Texas court granted her independence from her parents and a further investigation was being carried out concerning the murder plot charges.

Moceanu also contended that her parents worked her too hard which resulted in her not having a childhood.

She planned to compete in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
 

Timeline:

1981:  Moceanu was born
1990:  Moceanu and family move to Houston to be closer to coach, Bela Karolyi
1991:  Moceanu began competing in gymnastic events
1996:  Moceanu competes in the Olympics
1998:  Moceanu becomes first non-Russian to win all-around competition at the
           Goodwill Games
           Moceanu sues parents for mismanagement of funds and independence
           Moceanu's father threatens to have coach, Miscenco, deported
           Moceanu gets restraining order against father
           Texas Judge grants Moceanu independence from parents
           Homicide detectives take second look at allegations of murder-for-hire against Moceanu's father
          Moceanu requests that the restraining order be made permanent against
           her father

Important People:

Dominique Moceanu:  Olympic gold medalist
Dumitru Moceanu:  Dominique's father
Camelia Moceanu:  Dominique's mother
Bela Karolyi:  Dominique's former coach.  Also coached gymnastic greats such as Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton and Kerri Strug.
Luminita Miscenco: Coach credited with reviving Moceanu's floundering career.
John Montgomery:  Texas District Judge that granted Moceanu iindependence
Brian and Marcy Huggins: Couple that helped Moceanu escape from her parents
Roy Moore: Counsel for the plaintiff
Katherine Scardino:  Counsel for the defendant