Oprah Winfrey's father ordered to pay $70K in fines to ex-wife after sordid allegations of adultery with a prostitute named 'One Tooth' and financial scheming

• Vernon Winfrey's initial June 2012 petition for divorce was rejected in a November 1 ruling in Tennessee
• His wife of 12 years Barbara Winfrey's separate bid was granted because of the 79-year-old's 'adultery and inappropriate marital conduct'
• The decision came just days after Barbara, 66, alleged Oprah was trying to swindle her out of money
• The ruling stated the billionaire purchased a property her father and his wife owned after he had gifted it to another man

A judge has sided with Oprah Winfrey's estranged stepmother in a bitter divorce battle, ruling her 79-year-old father's 'adultery and inappropriate marital conduct' were behind the couple's split.

The decision came just days after Barbara Winfrey, 66, reportedly dragged her billionaire daughter-in-law into the messy 18-month-long fight, alleging Oprah was trying to swindle her out of money.

Vernon Winfrey's initial June 2012 petition for divorce was rejected in a November 1 ruling and Barbara's separate bid to end their 12-year union was granted, with Oprah's dad ordered to pay his ex-wife nearly $70,000 in attorney fees.

Barbara claimed Vernon cheated on her for years with prostitutes including one named 'One Tooth' and threatened to shoot her as well as being blackmailed by a woman over a sordid sex tape.

Divorce: Barbara Winfrey, pictured left in 2003, was granted a divorce from her husband of 12 years Vernon Winfrey, center, and Oprah Winfrey, right, was dragged into the battle

Allegations: In court papers filed on October 11, Barbara alleged 'several pieces of marital property' had been placed in a trust by Oprah and her father to avoid sharing them with her

Harris penalized Vernon for his apparent scheming, ordering that he be held liable for one of the pair's loan accounts.

A spokesman for Oprah told Radar that she and her checkbook stepped in because she didn't want her father's 'life work to be dissolved.'

'The property was in foreclosure and when it went up for auction, Ms. Winfrey bid and got it because she didn't want her father's life work to be dissolved,' the rep said.

Meanwhile, new revelations of the couple's split have emerged, with Barbara accusing Vernon in the same October 11 court papers of using his barbershop for 'sexual escapades' during their marriage that many in their community knew about, including the students Barbara taught at the local school.

'One Tooth' was the most humiliating visitor she alleged, as well as a woman who tried to blackmail Vernon, claiming she would hand over a 2008 sex tape to the local Channel 2 News if he didn't pay up.

In May, Vernon admitted he'd been filmed in the act and that the offending tape had been offered to the ABC News affiliate for broadcast but said 'I think the fellow refused to do so.' 

He added that he was never going to pay up, and would have accepted the consequences of the tape going to air.

'Oprah is furious at Barbara for trying to drag both her and her father through the mud,' a family member reportedly told the Enquirer. 

'Oprah loves her father but she's stunned at Barbara's sensational claims. The allegations about the prostitute and the gun are almost too much to take. The idea that her father would conduct himself this way is very disturbing to Oprah.'

Barbara's court documents also describe how Vernon allegedly threatened to shoot her when he was 'drunk and angry' one night and 'chased (her) around the island in their kitchen with a gun in his pocket, saying he would shoot her.'

Vernon reportedly admitted during the deposition that the couple had a disagreement and that he was in possession of a gun but said he never attempted to put his hand on his gun.