1. Dr. Conrad Murray
The man made infamous for his likely role in Michael Jackson’s homicide
has more than legal (and popularity) woes these days: he’s also facing
foreclosure. He could lose his home in the highly exclusive Las Vegas
Red Rock Country Club, as early as November. He still owes $100,000
on a $1.7 million mortgage and hasn’t made payment since January.
Murray’s attorney blames his financial troubles on the Jackson investigation,
but he was already in deep financial throes long before being hired as
Jackson’s personal physician three years ago. He filed for bankruptcy in
1992 and has owed more than $44,000 in tax liens to the states of California
and Arizona. He has also owed $3750 for child support and had his wages
garnished by almost $1500 by a credit card company. Moreover, since 2008,
judgments against his medical practice have surpassed $400,000.
Murray had hopes of getting his arrears in order with Jackson planning to
double his salary to $300,000 per month. As more details of his involvement
in Jackson’s death arise, however, foreclosure is likely the least of his worries.
2. Lenny Dykstra
Baseball-player-turned-investor Lenny Dykstra — whom Jim Cramer once
hailed as “one of the great ones in this business” — lost his $25 million
mansion to foreclosure in March. Despite claiming to have a net worth of
$60 million in an April interview with ESPN, the former center fielder for the
Mets and Phillies also filed for bankruptcy protection in July.
Dykstra parlayed his baseball career into a widely praised financial reputation,
helping other athletes manage their investments, starting up a high-end jet
charter company, and helping launch a magazine about athletes and their
lifestyles, The Players Club. He’s been accused of several acts of fraud,
however, including defrauding his mother of $13,000. More than two dozen
lawsuits have been filed against him since 2007.
Creditors came after Dykstra after he defaulted on an $850,000 bridge loan
secured by his California home and a $12 million mortgage. When he filed for
bankruptcy, he listed less than $50,000 in assets against liabilities anywhere
from $10 million to $50 million.
In August Dykstra was accused of stripping and selling furnishings and fixtures
from the foreclosed home. He has accused his bank of fraud against him and
has claimed to be living in his car and in hotel lobbies, as part of an appeal for
his insurance company to provide a temporary residence for him alone. It’s
already provided one for both him and his estranged wife, as was stipulated in
his policy.
3. Xzibit
It looks like Mr. Xuberant, Xtravagant, Xtraordinary himself has fallen into
Xcessive debt. According to TMZ, West Coast rapper/actor Xzibit faces
foreclosure on his Woodland Hills, CA, home for due mortgage payments
in excess of $21,000.
The IRS has also been after the former Pimp My Ride host, placing liens
totaling approximately $500,000 on him in 2006 and 2007 for unpaid taxes.
But Xzibit’s prospects seem on the upswing, especially with his role in the
upcoming film Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans. Unfortunately, however,
the film does star Nicholas Cage, which probably means that Xzibit’s finances
aren’t in the clear just yet.
4. Eddy Curry
New York Knicks center Eddy Curry is facing foreclosure on his suburban
Chicago home. He and his wife Patrice have been overdue by 8 months,
owing more than $217,000 on their $3.7 million mortgage.
Curry is suing his former agent and business manager, Lamont Carter,
alleging failure to account for the money spent and received on Curry’s
behalf.
The former Chicago Bulls player has also been embroiled in other recent
lawsuits, including an allegation of verbal abuse and sexual harassment by
his former limo driver, as well as a custody battle over his 3-year-old son
Noah, after the murder of his former girlfriend and daughter in January.
5. DMX
Rapper/actor DMX was the subject of one of the earliest celebrity foreclosure
stories of the year. His Cave Creek, Arizona, home was foreclosed on in
December of 2008 and put on sale in January, as DMX sat in jail awaiting
trial for several charges.
In May 2008 a SWAT team had raided the home, blowing out windows and
doors, and leaving the house easily accessible to thieves. Indeed, while DMX
was in jail, thieves made off with almost everything in the house, throwing a
few items of lesser value in the swimming pool. The home was in such bad
shape that the bank set its sale price for just 70% of the $600,000 DMX
originally paid.
DMX was arrested in Miami in December after failing to make a court date
in Arizona. He was sentenced to 90 days in prison after pleading guilty to
charges of animal cruelty, drug possession and theft. After his May release,
however, he was summoned back to court for attempted aggravated assault,
after throwing a food tray at a prison guard while incarcerated. DMX plead
guilty and was ordered to pay fines and serve 18 months of probation.
6. Evander Holyfield
Boxer Evander Holyfield dodged a second foreclosure on his Georgia mansion
this June, the first happening a year earlier. A lien holder demanded that the
former heavyweight champion repay a $10 million loan in full. However, Holyfield
was able to save the 190-room house just before the July 1st auction date.
Holyfield grossed more than $248 million throughout his boxing career, but two
divorces, multiple failed business investments, nearly half a million dollars in
child support payments, and other legal disputes have sapped his fortune.
Among his post-boxing endeavors are competing on Dancing with the Stars
in 2005 and starring in commercials for the restaurant chain Zaxby’s in 2007
and 2008. While in the ring, he became the world’s first four-time heavyweight
champion, a record which may soon be surpassed by his foreclosure record.
7. Stephen Baldwin
Actor Stephen Baldwin’s Nyack, New York, home went into foreclosure in June,
when he and his wife Kennya defaulted on a mortgage exceeding $824,000.
The home, which he paid $515,000 for in 1997, was listed for $3.4 million in
2006.
The Bio-Dome and The Usual Suspects star was also forced to file for
bankruptcy protection in July, owing $1.9 million on two mortgages, nearly
a million in federal and state taxes and penalties, and more than $70,000
in credit card debt.
Baldwin’s most recent career highlights include being a contestant on reality
shows including Celebrity Apprentice and I’m a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!
He also co-hosts a conservative radio talk show and in 2007 launched a (in
theory, anyway) for-profit organization, Antioch Ministry.
It is not clear whether he earned any compensation for his cameo on Hannah
Montana, which was part of a deal he made with Miley Cyrus in exchange for
getting the initials “HM” tattooed on his left shoulder.
8. Victoria Gotti
Victoria Gotti’s Long Island estate — with its 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms,
stable and pond — fell into foreclosure in May. The daughter of late Mafia
boss John Gotti had skipped two years of payment on a $650,000 debt,
prompting the bank to place the estate on sale for $3.2 million. The 6-acre
home was featured, along with her family, in the short-lived A&E reality TV
show Growing Up Gotti.
Gotti was awarded the home when she and her then-husband Carmine
Agnello divorced in 2003. She claims that she was saddled with an
$856,000 loan Agnello took out on the house years ago without her
knowledge. The bank denies her claim.
Neighbors expressed relief over the foreclosure, complaining about its
worn paint and unkempt lawn: “Good riddance,” one neighbor told the
New York Post. Much to their chagrin, however, the government let her
keep the home in exchange for buying and selling 11 properties owned
by Agnello in order to cover her mortgage and his debts.
9. Fantasia Barrino
American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino almost lost her North Carolina home
this past December as well, after defaulting on a more than $60,000 loan
from a shady Florida corporation, Broward Energy Management.
She took out the loan to help pay back taxes owed to the IRS. She also still
owes for a $1 million mortgage she took from Bank of America.
Since winning American Idol in 2004, Barrino has released several successful
songs and published a memoir that reached number seven on The New York
Times Best Seller List. She also starred in a Lifetime movie chronicling her
rags-to-riches story, as well as in Oprah Winfrey’s production of The Color
Purple.
Although technically an execution sale and not a foreclosure — as the house
would have been seized to settle a debt and not a mortgage – the
6,500-square-foot house was slated for public auction on January 12th.
However, Barrino and the lending company reached an agreement,
allowing her to keep the $1.3 million home. Full details of the arrangement
have not been made publicly available.
10. Ray Nagin
The New Orleans mayor most known for his handling of the Hurricane
Katrina disaster might be facing his own financial storm. The Casa Bella
(Home) Owners Association has threatened to foreclose on Ray Nagin’s
Frisco, Texas, home, unless he pays $1507.14 in home association fees.
Nagin describes the 1,700-square-foot property as a “second hurricane
home.” He claims to have the money to pay the fees; but he and his wife,
Selena Smith-Nagin, have nevertheless said they plan to sell the $182,000
residence to settle the debt.