Dionne Warwick Bankruptcy

Legendary Grammy-winning singer Dionne Warwick has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the state of New Jersey.  Warwick reportedly owes millions in tax debt to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the state of California.  Her representative claims the massive debt is due to mismanagement of finances during the late 1980’s and 1990’s.

Warwick’s legal representative claims her previous business manager mismanaged her funds, and the next thing she knew she owed millions.  According to documents related to her filing, she has close to $11 million in liabilities with about $25,000 in assets.  She owes the IRS more than $7 million in back taxes and the state of California has claims against her for more than $3 million.  The credit card company Visa claims she owes roughly $20,000 and a former business manager says $500,000 is outstanding for services completed.

Documents related to the filing also claim Warwick earns about $21,000 per month and is only left with $10.00 after paying monthly expenses including $4,000 a month to her personal assistant and $5,000 per month for housekeeping/house sitting services.  She claims to have about $25,000 in assets which includes a $1,000 in cash, 2 fur coats, 2 pairs of diamond earrings, gowns and furniture over 10 years old.

Her representative claims Warwick has filed her tax returns each year, but has been unable to strike a deal with the IRS or the state of California regarding penalties and interest past due.

Warwick, who is also the cousin of the late singer Whitney Houston, has been in the music business for over 50 years.  She is known for releasing a string of musical hits including the song “That’s What Friends Are For.”  She has received numerous honors for her work including 5 Grammy awards.

Reference:  http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2013/03/26/do-you-know-the-way-to-bankruptcy-court/?mod=google_news_blog

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/dionne-warwick-flat-broke-article-1.1299283

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130326/us-dionne-warwick-bankruptcy/?utm_hp_ref=media&ir=media

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