By Ryan C. Wood
On July 31, 2012, former baseball star and controversial author filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 of the bankrupt code in Nevada, case number 12-18916. Like many Americans faced with financial difficulty it is tough to choose bankruptcy as the answer. It is particularly troubling when someone who has earned millions of dollars has to make that choice too. I still have baseball cards from when Mr. Canseco was part of the bash brothers and the Oakland A’s.
According to court documents most of Mr. Canseco’s financial woes are primarily tax and judgment related. Schedules E and F list a tax debts owed to the Internal Revenue Service, the State of California, the State of Florida and the State of New York. It appears most of the tax debt owed is dischargeable in the bankruptcy.
Jose lists his current monthly income as $7,500 a month and expenses totaling $4,450 including $3,100 per month in food. I think that is the highest amount I have ever seen as a bankruptcy lawyer listed in a bankruptcy petition for food. I used to work for a Chapter 13 trustee and have reviewed many petitions prepared by other bankruptcy attorneys and have filed bankruptcy for many people. It is possible, but usually high food expenses are related to eating disorders or diabetes.
Tri-Tech Restoration Co., Inc. of Burbank, California holds a judgment totaling approximately $77,859. Another judgment owed to Christopher Amirault appears to be the result of an eviction back in 2008. Canseco allegedly dumped a lot of sand in the backyard left the house a mess according to court records. Another judgment owed to Christian Presley totaling $785,344 allegedly resulted from a fight in Florida years ago that involved Ozzie Canseco too.
Hopefully Mr. Canseco can weather the financial storm with unpaid taxes and move on with life without burdensome debt like everyone else that seeks bankruptcy protection. His baseball career seems to be wrapped up for the most part, but that does not mean he cannot leverage his notoriety in some other way in the future and make some good money again. That goes for anyone that files bankruptcy. Just because you hit a rough patch does not mean the whole rest of your life is ruined. Bankruptcy will help you get a fresh start and help you to rebuild your finances. It takes time, hard decisions and work to rebuild your credit score. At the end of the day we are just talking about money. There are more important things in life.