Allen Iverson's Bank Account Seized Over Jewelry Debt
Ex-NBA star Allen Iverson's bank account is set to take a huge hit, after a judge ordered the account seized to pay off Iverson's debt to a jewelry store.
How much bling brought down the 11-time NBA all-star? The answer: About $860,000 worth, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
You may think that's chump change to Allen Iverson, 36, who earned more than $150 million while playing for the 76ers, according to the Inquirer. But Iverson apparently blew through most of his cash, and not just on jewelry.
Allen Iverson's bank seizure may be linked to his huge posse of friends who used to follow him everywhere -- as many as 50 people would get tickets to home games, courtesy of A.I., the Inquirer has reported.
Iverson also paid for his friends' pricey hotel suites and threw big parties. And he hired a hair stylist who traveled with him, the Inquirer says.
But The Answer's downfall may have been jewelry. Allen Iverson famously purchased a pendant made of platinium that boasted 63 diamonds in the shape of a numeral "3," a tribute to his jersey number. Iverson gave the pendant to his mother, the Inquirer reports.
It's not clear if his mother's pendant is part of Iverson's unpaid debt to the jewelry store. Iverson allegedly failed to pay a $375,000 bill to the jewelers, who sued him for repayment in 2010.
Iverson failed to respond to the suit, so a Georgia judge issued a default judgment in favor of the jewelers. When Iverson still failed to pay, the judge ordered Iverson's bank assets seized to pay back the debt -- with interest and fees, it somehow swelled to $860,000.
Bank-account seizure and garnishment is one way a court can force an uncooperative debtor to pay his creditors. Seizing a person's wages is another way (in that case, federal law limits garnishment to 25% of earnings for most workers).
But A.I.'s career is nowhere near where it used to be -- he last played for a team in the Turkish Basketball League in 2011. That's probably why a judge ordered Allen Iverson's bank account seized instead of his earnings. It's not clear if Iverson's jewelry debt has yet been paid.
Related Resources:
- Report: Iverson's bank account seized (Fox Sports)
- New Rules for Garnishing Bank Accounts Containing Federal Benefits (FindLaw)
- Wage Garnishment and Bankruptcy Linked? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Debtors' Rights in Florida (FindLaw)
