When Jean Powell-Armstrong got the call from Philadelphia International Records, she thought it was a prank.

William Powell (center) died in 1977 at the peak of the O'Jays' success.> Subject(s): Philadelphia International Records, William Powell, The O'Jays

The caller insisted that Jean's late brother, William Powell, an original member of the O'Jays, was owed a fat chunk of change by the record label, which had released the group's biggest hits, including "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train." Since 70-year-old Jean and her sister, Movita, were Powell's only living heirs, they were entitled to the money.

It had been nearly 30 years since she'd heard anything about her brother's estate. So Jean simply dismissed the call as if it were a winning sweepstakes envelope from Ed McMahon.

"My mom couldn't believe it," says her son, William. "Twenty-some years later and someone was calling her about this? She told them to send [the message] to her in black-and-white."

PIR's attorney, Philip Asbury, did just that, assuring Jean and Movita that "substantial sums are payable to your brother's estate."

Not only did Asbury refuse to release the funds; he wouldn't even say how much the sisters were owed.

Last July, Goldwasser filed suit. A few days later, Asbury philasbury@gamble-huffmusic.com finally admitted that PIR owed the sisters over $400,000. But Goldwasser enlisted an accountant, who discovered that Powell's estate was actually owed more than $1 million.