Attorneys representing the estate of Tony Hsieh, the late CEO of Zappos, are seeking extensive "CSI-style" forensic testing on a purported will that surfaced in 2025, over four years after his death in November 2020. Hsieh, who founded Zappos and was a prominent figure in downtown Las Vegas's revitalization, died at age 46 from injuries sustained in a Connecticut house fire. His estate, once valued at an estimated $850 million, is now estimated at $513 million, and multiple claims and lawsuits have been filed against it.
Hsieh's father, Richard Hsieh, who is also a co-administrator of the estate, has consistently argued that his son died without a will and that the document submitted to the Clark County District Court is a forgery. The legal team alleges that Tony Hsieh's signature was forged, that key individuals named in the will are unknown to his family or colleagues, and that the listed witnesses likely do not exist and have failed to respond to subpoenas. They have conducted a broad investigation, including analyzing court records, surveillance footage, internal documents, and hiring experts.
A judge has approved the forensic testing, which will include "semi-destructive" methods such as taking pinhole-sized samples of ink and paper. This testing aims to determine the ink's manufacturer, its production date, and how long it has been on the document, to ascertain if the will was signed around its listed date of March 13, 2015, or fabricated later. Gerald LaPorte, a forensic chemist and document authentication specialist, has been appointed as a special master to oversee the process, which may also include physical, microscopic, optical, chemical, and potentially fingerprint and DNA analysis, although Hsieh's attorneys initially objected to the latter tests as premature.
The two Las Vegas-area attorneys, Armstrong and Ferrario, named as co-administrators in the purported will, claim the document is compliant with Nevada law despite never having met Hsieh or worked on his estate planning. They also acknowledge the need for testing. The estate's attorneys argue that whoever orchestrated the alleged forgery went to "extraordinary lengths to cover their tracks by creating a false trail."
