I don't think there was a legal contract between Edison and Tesla either, and they later became business competitors, so who knows what accusations were made, and which ones were true.
Regardless, Tesla still got his big chance with Westinghouse and lost all the money. That's why I have doubts about Tesla being ripped off in the big scheme of things. It's too bad he didn't keep his focus on inventing, rather than competing with Edison in business. Tesla's bizarre behavior didn't help either.
One of the things Tesla was working on was the wireless transmission of power. (This matter is supposedly in dispute) His Wardenclyffe Tower was supposedly being built for wireless transmission or radio. When his investors found out that he planned on creating wireless un-metered power, his backers cut off funding.
Interesting read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower
Despite Tesla's serious eccentricities, he was quite the genius.
There is a story about him working on an electric car. The story goes that the car's designer had everything ready but didn't have the power source. So, he took Tesla to the equivalent of the local Radio Shack. He bought some parts and when the device was finished it was a small box with what looked like two copper rods sticking out plus the connection to the car's motor. Tesla is said to have pushed in the rods and said, "we have power" and the car ran. If you've ever read Atlas Shrugged" it sounds like the power system John Galt designed.
Now, I'm going from memory so take it for what it's worth.