‘Real Housewives’ Husband Russell Armstrong Commits Suicide after Financial Burdens and Divorce
Russell Armstrong, estranged husband of Taylor Armstrong from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, was found dead Monday at 8:16pm. The Coroner’s Office rep is treating the death like a suicide. It is rumored that he hung himself from overwhelming debt and separation from his wife. After Wednesday, the coroner will begin the examination.
Russell Armstrong was an investment banker, and his wife filed for divorce last month. They have a five-year-old daughter together. He was married previously, and had two sons ages eleven and thirteen.
Russell had a history of financial problems. In 2005, he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and court documents revealed he had less than $50,000 in assets. The documents also exposed his debt to be from 1 and 10 million dollars. In addition, he has a history of law suits filed against him along with a felony for financial wrongdoing.
In 2001 and 2003, he faced charges on negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary and fraud. In 1995, Russell served five years of probation after charged for tax evasion. Russell has been battling financial problems for over ten years. Taylor’s rep made a public statement that she is “devastated” and trying to comfort their daughter.
American Idol Fantasia Barrino being sued for $25,000
Fantasia Barrino, American Idol winner from 2004, had a very overwhelming past few days. She announced during a charity concert in Florida that she is pregnant. Her manager has been denying the pregnancy rumors, and claimed the weight gain was for a movie role.
Now a bank is suing her for more than $25,000 for unnamed reasons. It has been reported she owes the bank $25,057.02 plus 10% interest from back in 2009.
This is not the first time Fantasia has been in financial trouble. The Grammy Award winner nearly lost her home in a foreclosure. She saved the home by making a payment just in time.
She purchased the home in 2007 for $1.3 million dollars. The property is a 6-bed, 6,000-sq. ft. mansion. Her relative claimed this was all a misunderstanding because Fantasia was not able to make the court hearing. At that time, she was accused of defaulting on $58,000 of the loan.
Vanilla Ice’s Real Estate Advice
Vanilla Ice, the early 90’s hip hop’s star, real name Robert Van Winkle, was once known for his single that had everyone singing “Ice Ice Baby.” For some iconic stars of the 90’s, the curtain went down and stayed down. For the past few years, Vanilla Ice has been attempting to get back in the spotlight with a different approach.
His new title, carpenter and real estate investor, inspired him to start a reality show on renovations. This show is to educate his fans on how to plan their dream homes and use their tools. He starts the show by renovating each room of a gutted foreclosed home in Southern Florida.
While America is waiting for his show to air in 2012, people can be on the lookout for his real estate guide. He recently said, “Most people know the common terms, short sells and foreclosures, but there’s even better ways of buying homes that you can learn about, like tax liens, auctions, you can go in and if you know the process, really invest properly and get these houses for pennies on the dollar.”
He continues to talk about the statistics of the areas hardest hit by foreclosures. In addition, he said if he can capitalize on it, anyone could too.
How does America feel about taking real estate advice from Vanilla Ice?
Lenny Dykstra arrested, foreclosed home sold
On Monday, authorities took former Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star, Lenny Dykstra, into custody and charged him with 25 misdemeanors and one felony count.
Bail for the 48-year-old, who played professional ball for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, has been set at $500,000 with a bail-review scheduled for Friday.
In April, “Nails” was found in possession of cocaine, ecstasy and a Human Growth Hormone (HGH), Somatropin. His accountant and friend were also charged in the case. Prosecutors allege the three men attempted to lease high-end vehicles with credit from a fake company called Home Free Systems.
This is just the latest chapter in an otherwise turbulent post-baseball career for Dykstra.
Back in 2007, he ran into some trouble when he purchased an $18.5 million, six-bedroom home from Wayne Gretzky. After not paying for the home, he put the property on the market for $24.95 million in June 2008.
When the home did not sell, it fell into foreclosure. Dykstra actually sued the lender because he argued it “fraudulently induced him to borrow more than he could afford.”
You can’t make this stuff up.
Both parties eventually settled and the home was repossessed. A group of investors later purchased the country club estate for an undisclosed sum.
He should only be so lucky this time around.
Plaxico Burress released from prison, saves Florida house from foreclosure
In 2009, New York Giants NFL wide receiver, Plaxico Burress, shot himself in the thigh with a loaded and unregistered gun at a Manhattan nightclub.
To add insult to injury, he was sentenced to 21 months in a medium security prison because of the incident and subsequent “cover up” scandal.
While incarcerated, the NFL star had a $3.3 million foreclosure lawsuit filed against him and his wife. According to Broward County court records, he was served Jan. 26, 2010. The home, in Light House Point, Fla., includes 6,872-square-feet with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. The original purchase price was about $4 million in 2005.
Since the announcement of the foreclosure, the Burress family has saved their South Florida residence.
While in the 12×12 prison cell, Burress had a few minor infractions. Reports say that he had misled the corrections officer to make a phone call, exchanged sneakers with another inmate and possessed an extra pillow. The report also states that his room was filthy with unopened bags of food and dirty clothes on the floor.
Before heading to the airport yesterday, Burress stopped at a luxury hotel where his family was staying. He was greeted by his wife, kissed his daughter and wrapped his arms around his son. When they arrived to the South Florida home, a banner that read, “Welcome Home” was in the driveway.
Burress yelled for the family and dog and said, “I’m doing good.”
