Grammy-award winning artist Toni Braxton has successfully made it through another bankruptcy.
Braxton’s suffered through her first bankruptcy after suing labels Arista and LaFace Records. The “Braxton Family” star sold 20 million records with little financial reward.
Braxton went through a downward spiral the second time around when a surprise Lupus diagnosis caused her to cancel a lucrative Las Vegas performing contract.
Utah-bankruptcy.com reported in 2012:
“Toni Braxton recently had to file for bankruptcy for a second time on October 29th; she says that she had no choice in the matter. In an effort to dispel rumors about her bankruptcy filing, Braxton says that she filed bankruptcy at a time where she was diagnosed with lupus. The lupus diagnosis forced her to cancel a series of shows in Las Vegas, and in addition to that, she says that the insurance company was unwilling to cover her cancellation.”
As the case dragged on for a few years, Braxton was accused of fraud. Huffington Post reported on the case at the time:
“The Grammy Award-winning singer is being accused of bankruptcy fraud, after she transferred more than $53,000 to Keri Lewis, her estranged husband, ‘in order to avoid paying back creditors in her bankruptcy case.’ The trustee of Braxton’s bankruptcy estate claims that Lewis received the $53,490 after the money was ‘earmarked to repay creditors.’ Lewis is allegedly being sued by the trustee.”
Several court proceedings and a payment of $150,000 later, Braxton is in the clear. TMZ obtained documents on the final settlement.
“According to docs filed in the bankruptcy, Braxton made a deal with the trustee to buy back some of the personal property she lost. The deal was for Braxton to pay $5,000/month for 15 months with the last payment being $50,000. Braxton made all the payments … except for that last one. The other part of the case hanging over Braxton’s head was the issue of $754,000 Braxton made for overseas performances. The shows took place after Braxton filed for bankruptcy, so she argued that she was legally entitled to keep the money earned from these performances.”
Luckily for her fans, Braxton is putting the bankruptcy behind her and looking ahead with another studio album. Braxton has reconciled with Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds to release another album through Motown Records later this year.