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Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy case took another turn this week following a judge’s ruling in favor of the Colorado defensive back’s counterpart.
Sanders finds himself in an $11.89 million debt to John Darjean, a former security guard at one of Sanders’ previous stops.
The case surrounds an alleged assault that took place when Sanders was 15 years old. Darjean says that he was left with permanent injury after being struck with a roundhouse elbow amid a dispute about a cell phone.
Sanders claims that Darjean was actually the aggressor.
Darjean won the initial lawsuit by default judgement when the Buffs‘ secondary member didn’t show up to court. Since, Sanders has been on the hook for money owed.
He attempted to get out of paying by filing for bankruptcy a year ago, but Darjean has since countered with a return complaint.
According to USA Today, the court dismissed part of Darjean’s initial filing while allowing him to amend parts of that complaint. Now, a second complaint has been filed
Shilo Sanders’ NIL earnings are now the focus.
“Darjean sufficiently identified assets that were at one time owned by the Sanders but are no longer available to pay creditors because they are not listed in the schedules,” the judge wrote in the ruling Monday. “As to those specific omitted assets, the Court finds Darjean has sufficiently stated a claim under (the law).”
The complaint will proceed to trial due to Sanders’ potentially “concealed or omitted assets.”
Darjean argues that the defender has deleted records and social media posts fully describing his financial situation. A judge agreed.
NIL appearances and promotions were not properly displayed according to Darjean, who believes Sanders is attempting to hide his actual income.
The judge denied Sanders’ attempt to dismiss this particular claim, too. He noted the trustee in this bankruptcy proceeding previously asked Sanders to turn over some records but didn’t produce them…
“In this case, Sanders’s business and income is derived from his NIL rights,” the judge wrote. “If Sanders does monetize his NIL rights through social media posts, as alleged by Darjean, those posts could be construed as business records. Thus, Darjean’s allegations about deletion of social media posts may support his… claim.”
Shilo Sanders shrugged off the accusations at Big 12 Media Days this summer, but the case hasn’t gone away to this point.
It will be interesting to see his response moving forward.