Casey Anthony Files for Bankruptcy in Florida
Published at(NEW YORK) — Casey Anthony has filed for bankruptcy protection in Florida.
The 26-year-old, who has been in hiding since she was acquitted 18 months ago of murdering her daughter, is seeking relief from a mountain of legal fees, penalties and back taxes.
Anthony filed the motion Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. According to the filing, Anthony has $1,084 in the bank and owes nearly $800,000, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The bulk of Anthony’s debt — $500,000 — is attorney’s fees and costs for her defense during her high-profile murder trial.
Anthony also owes $145,660 to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for investigative fees related to the case because she misled them during the investigation; $68,540 to the Internal Revenue Service; and $61,505 in court costs.
The filing also mentions that Anthony is a defendant in several ongoing civil suits, including one filed by Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez for defamation.
Anthony told detectives in 2008 that her daughter, Caylee, had been kidnapped by a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.
Authorities found the woman did not exist, but a Florida woman sharing a name with the fictitious nanny filed suit against Anthony.
Gonzalez said she lost her job and was evicted from her house as a result of Anthony’s tale. The two women did not know each other.
Anthony later told authorities her daughter had drowned.
Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found the body of 2-year-old Caylee, and Texas EquuSearch, a group that spent more than $100,000 searching for the missing toddler, are also suing Anthony, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
On Friday, a Florida appeals court overturned two of Anthony’s four lying convictions for misleading authorities.
Anthony completed her one-year probation for check fraud in August, leaving her free to go wherever she pleases. She resurfaced a few times over the past year via a leaked video diary and a telephone conversation with Piers Morgan, but has otherwise succeeded in disappearing from the public eye.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio