A new court filing in the bankruptcy case of Colorado football player Shilo Sanders seeks to expand the investigation of his assets by seeking more information about them from his father Deion Sanders, his brother Shedeur, as well as the University of Colorado.
The filing comes from the attorneys of John Darjean, the man who is owed more than $11 million from Shilo Sanders. They say Shilo has “delayed and slow-rolled the production of documents” sought by the trustee in this case. So now they are asking a federal bankruptcy judge to allow them to issue subpoenas for more information from Shilo Sanders, Deion Sanders, Colorado’s coach, and Shedeur Sanders, Colorado’s quarterback.
“The Debtor has provided relatively little information to the Trustee, yet the Debtor has lived and continues to live a lavish lifestyle (including the recent purchase of a Tesla Cybertruck),” the filing states.
Filing says Deion Sanders has collected revenue for his son
Shilo Sanders, 24, filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 in an attempt to get out of the debt he owes Darjean, a former security guard at his school in Dallas. The debt stems from an incident in 2015, when Shilo was 15 years old and allegedly struck Darjean in the chest with his elbow when Darjean tried to confiscate his phone at school.
Deion and Shilo Sanders previously said Darjean was the aggressor, not Shilo, but Darjean won a $11.89 million court judgment against him after he sued Shilo and claimed he sustained permanent injuries from the incident.
Darjean is now fighting Shilo’s attempt to get out of the debt because he wants to collect on it. To support those efforts, he wants the judge to allow him to send subpoenas for information to Deion and Shedeur Sanders. He also seeks to issue subpoenas to the university and the 5430 Alliance, the collective that pays Colorado athletes for their names, images and likenesses (NIL).
“Darjean through counsel has received information that Deion Sanders and/or Shadeur Sanders have collected revenue for promotional appearances and/or NIL activities on account of or on behalf of the Debtor,” the filing states.
Shilo Sanders’ attorneys have disputed lack of cooperation
The university has declined comment on the matter and has said Shilo and Deion Sanders wouldn’t comment either.
An attorney for Shilo didn’t return a message seeking comment but has previously disputed allegations that Shilo has not cooperated in this proceeding. In August, Shilo’s attorneys said in a court filing that Shilo “has been forthcoming with information and has made his retained professionals, including multiple sets of attorneys, his accountant, and other professionals available to the Trustee.”
Shilo Sanders didn’t show up for the trial in Texas that led to the $11 million default judgment against him in 2022. But he did participate in the litigation before that, including testifying in a pretrial deposition and filing counter claims against Darjean. He is a graduate student and safety at Colorado who is playing his final year of college football with the Buffaloes (6-2).
Creditor wants to serve subpoenas to collect information
Darjean’s attorneys stated the bankruptcy case ‘really is a two-party dispute’ between Darjean and Shilo Sanders. They noted Shilo filed for bankruptcy amid efforts to collect on the debt and have accused him of ‘massive nondisclosure’ of his assets in this case.
“Cause exists to dismiss this case on account of the bad faith of the Debtor in the conduct of this case, and Darjean reserves all rights and remedies in that regard,” the filing states. “Until this case is dismissed, however, the Debtor and those involved with and/or acting in concert with the Debtor should provide the documents and information to which Darjean otherwise would be entitled to obtain had not the Debtor filed the case on the eve of the receivership hearing.”
The court filing requests that the court enter an order permitting Darjean to serve the third-party discovery and order each of the third parties to respond to it within 30 days. It says the production of such information is necessary to recover assets for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate. In bankruptcy law, it’s known as a Rule 2004 Examination.
“Deion Sanders and the Debtor have appeared together in documentaries, social media posts, and other events which are certain to have generated royalties or other income,” the filing states. “Deion Sanders either knows about the compensation received by the Debtor and/or possibly received himself the compensation earned by the Debtor.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com