Los Angeles  - The former financial manager of actor Nicolas Cage has fired back at the Hollywood movie star, claiming in a lawsuit that Cage was a compulsive spender who ignored all warnings to rein in his lavish lifestyle, People reported Tuesday.

Cage sued Samuel Levin last month for 25 million dollars, claiming that the accountant led him on a path to financial ruin that included the foreclosure of many of his houses.

In his countersuit, Levin claimed that from the day he was hired in 2001 he warned Cage to stop outspending his massive paychecks, and that he would need 30 million dollars a year to maintain his lifestyle.

But even when Cage made more than that, such as in 2007, following his hit movie National Treasure, Cage managed to up his spending. According to Levin, the actor bought three properties worth 33 million dollars, in addition to 22 cars and expensive jewelry and art.

Cage "spent huge sums taking his sizable entourage on costly vacations and threw enormous, Gatsby-scale parties at his residences," the lawsuit stated. (dpa)