Recently in Debt Collection Category

In filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, University of Arkansas football coach John L. Smith hoped to quickly discharge his debt and move on with his life.

Now, what was expected to be a simple liquidation could turn out to be a drawn-out ordeal. One of Smith's creditors has asked the court to put Smith under oath for an extensive examination of his finances. According to the creditor, Smith manipulated his salary arrangement in order to shield his earnings from creditors, USA Today reports.

While the majority of student loans are federal, an increasing number of number of students now rely on private loans to cover their expenses. About 90% of those loans require co-signers, up from about 50% six years ago, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As a result, more and more parents and grandparents are on the hook when young graduates can't pay. Many co-signers are forced to file for bankruptcy under the weight of their debt.

Unfortunately, shedding student loan debt through bankruptcy is no easy task.

Cobb, DeKalb, and Fulton counties have filed a lawsuit against HSBC, claiming the bank engaged in predatory lending practices, Channel 2 Action News reports.

The suit, filed in federal court, claims violations of the Fair Housing Act. The counties allege that HSBC made racially discriminatory loans, involving different terms for minorities and persons of color.

Curt Schilling personally guaranteed millions of dollars in loans to keep his video game company, 38 Studios, afloat. Now that the company has filed for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee will be looking for the collateral on those loans.

According to The Associated Press, Schilling put up the bloody sock he wore during Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series as collateral. The sock, which could bring in anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000, is currently on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

When Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas' mom told reporters that she'd filed for bankruptcy before her daughter won the gold, we wrote a post on the financial sacrifices that come with training for the Games. But what about going bankrupt after winning the gold?

Rulon Gardner knows all about that. The gold medal-winning wrestler is $3 million in debt and filing for bankruptcy, The Daily Caller reports.

The man responsible for inflicting "Your Body is a Wonderland" on the world has been mentioned in a $100 million Ponzi-sceme bankruptcy case, The Wall Street Journal reports.

John Mayer fans can exhale. The singer hasn't been implicated in the scheme. He was merely paid with Ponzi scheme funds for a performance at a corporate event, the lawsuit asserts.

Are you in the market for a Tennessee Titans soda machine? How about a diamond-encrusted Breitling Bentley watch? If so, you may be in luck.

On July 26, the Internal Revenue Service will auction off rapper Young Buck's jewelry, recording equipment, art, and other seized possessions, The Associated Press reports. The "Straight Outta Cashville" artist is reportedly straight out of cash.

Evander Holyfield's Fayette County mansion has been hit with foreclosure, TMZ reports. This week, the former heavyweight boxing champ vacated the multi-million dollar mega-mansion.

While Holyfield made a whopping $230 million during his time in the ring, he was unable to keep up with his mortgage payments. The home was recently sold at a foreclosure auction for $7.5 million.

Good news for the broke and ailing: the U.S. Treasury Department has proposed new rules to protect patients from abusive debt collection practices at non-profit hospitals, NPR reports.

The proposed rules are intended to take aim at aggressive debt collectors who hound patients in their hospital beds. In addition to the restrictions on debt collection, the proposed rules require charitable hospitals to provide financial assistance policies for the economically disadvantaged.

"Octomom" Nadya Suleman can't win. Last month, she failed at filing for bankruptcy. Now she's losing her home.

On Tuesday, the foreclosure process on Suleman's Orange County, Calif. home was finalized after the house failed to sell at auction, The Wall Street Journal reports. Now, Suleman will have to find somewhere else for her and her fourteen kids to live.