The wife of Raiders coach Antonio Pierce filed for bankruptcy earlier this month in an effort to “protect her assets and those of the marital community,” according to documents reviewed by the Review-Journal.
Filings indicated Jocelyn Pierce made the bankruptcy petition through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Arizona, where she is listed as a resident, after car dealerships in which her husband had invested in and was listed as a guarantor of loans defaulted on judgments of about $28 million.
Jocelyn Pierce said in the filing her husband’s post-retirement years “echo an all too familiar story for professional athletes.”
“In the 2010s, Mr. Pierce was convinced to invest in car dealerships,” the claim reads. “Despite his role as a mere passive investor with no oversight or management of the businesses’ affairs, Mr. Pierce was asked to sign various documents. Although the Debtor has no direct knowledge of the events, personal guaranties were later produced bearing Mr. Pierce’s name. When several of the businesses defaulted on their loans, the lenders obtained judgments against the businesses and Mr. Pierce as a guarantor.”
Jocelyn Pierce goes on to claim in the documents that she personally did not sign any guarantee on the loans and requested additional time to produce required paperwork because she was forced to hastily file the claim to “protect her assets and those of the marital community from Mr. Pierce’s judgment creditors.”
She said the move was necessitated when she learned the two largest creditors attempted to satisfy their judgments from assets of the martial community and tried to garnish Antonio Pierce’s wages.
That claim was granted by the court, which ruled “good cause” existed to extend the deadline to July 12.
Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation holds a judgment of just less than $22.4 million, and Hyundai Capital America holds one exceeding $5.8 million.
A status conference on the matter is scheduled for July 24 in Phoenix.
The Raiders declined to comment.
Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
