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Thu Mar 2, 3:25 PMUPDATED 20 HOURS 50 MINUTES AGO

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A renowned psychiatrist lost up to $3 million over 10 years to a Nigerian Internet scam, his son alleges in a lawsuit.

Dr. Louis A. Gottschalk, an 89-year-old neuroscientist who works at the University of California, Irvine medical plaza that bears his name, acknowledged losing $900,000 to "some bad investments," according to court papers.

Guy Gottschalk filed a lawsuit last month asking a judge to remove his father as administrator of the family's $8 million partnership. He alleges his father sent the money to a scammer who promised the doctor a cut of a huge sum of cash trapped in African bank accounts in exchange for money advances.

He also alleges his father destroyed bank records to cover up his losses.

The younger Gottschalk claims in court papers he filed the suit to prevent his father from being further victimized.

Louis Gottschalk accuses his son in legal documents of carrying out an unspecified "vendetta" against him. Guy Gottschalk lost a bid last October to have a conservator oversee the family partnership, documents show.

The Nigerian Internet scam is a long-running con that targets people with e-mail accounts. Criminals send junk e-mail to thousands of unsuspecting people offering them a share in a large fortune if they can only provide a smaller amount of money up front. The criminal takes the money and then disappears.

Louis Gottschalk gained prominence in 1987 by claiming that his studies of President Reagan's speech patterns showed Reagan had been suffering from diminished mental ability as early as 1980.

A hearing in Guy Gottschalk's lawsuit is set for March 14.