Celebrity Bankruptcy Updates

Read through recent foreclosure and bankruptcy cases and you may come across some familiar names: Toni Braxton, Gary Busey, Nicolas Cage, Allen Iverson, R Kelly, and Nadya Suleman a.k.a. Octomom are on the list, which seems to grow by the day. Each of these stars found him or herself in need of a foreclosure or bankruptcy lawyer.

Toni Braxton: Bankruptcy #2

Toni Braxton has filed for bankruptcy two times. The R&B singer recently revealed that an obsession with home decorating contributed to her 1998 filing. She attributes her second bankruptcy to the medical condition lupus, which sent her to a Los Angeles hospital in December. She lost her home in 2010, which caused her to consider posing for Playboy. Today, Braxton has a reality show and is living in a posh Los Angeles home.

Gary Busey Emerging from Bankruptcy

Gary Busey recently emerged from his February 2012 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing but as of early December, he still owed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) $450,000. Under current bankruptcy laws, this debt cannot be discharged. Busey claimed that “just breaking even” was his new hobby.

Nicolas Cage Makes Millions But Doesn’t Like to Pay His Taxes

Nicolas Cage may earn millions at the box office but in 2009, the actor was facing bankruptcy. after failing to pay approximately $6 million to the IRS in 2007, Cage had to sell several of his properties at rock-bottom prices. Excessive spending was to blame for his financial troubles and included lavish purchases like a Lamborghini, a jet, and even an island. Did we mention the shrunken heads, dinosaur skull bones, and funeral pyramid?

R Kelly – Foreclosed, Bankrupt, Still Living Large

Like Cage, recording artist R Kelly found himself in bankruptcy in July 2011 for failing to pay the taxman. Kelly owed nearly one million dollars to the IRS and his mansion was nearing foreclosure status. R Kelly was also involved in a foreclosure on his property in Olympia Fields, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, however, his penthouse in Trump Tower continues to be paid on time.

Allen Iverson Broke

Though he earned $154 during the course of his career, eleven-time NBA All Star Allen Iverson also knows the sting of bankruptcy. In February 2012, a judge in Georgia seized his accounts to pay outstanding debts reportedly amassed due to his large entourage and outlandish spending.

Octomom Bankruptcy Tossed Out

Last but certainly not least is Octomom (actually mother of 14) Nadya Suleman, whose Chapter 7 bankruptcy case was thrown out of court in May 2012 due to her failure to file paperwork indicating that she could not repay her debts. Foreclosure proceedings were resumed on her rented home while Suleman existed on welfare and faced multiple collectors. After being off welfare for five months, she recently went back on, calling it a “temporary” situation.