Simpson owed family millions
OJ Simpson died owing more than $176m to the family of Ron Goldman, the friend of his ex-wife Nicole Brown the disgraced footballer had been controversially acquitted of murdering in 1994.
Despite avoiding jail for murdering the pair, a civil trial jury in 1997 found Simpson liable for the deaths and ordered him to pay $51m to their families.
However, Simpson died owing much more than that. A lawyer for Ron Goldman’s father Fred Goldman told US media that prior to his death on April 10, Simpson owed the Goldman family more than $176m.
“He died without penance,” lawyer David Cook said. “He did not want to give a dime, a nickel to Fred, never, anything, never.”
Mr Cook said the Goldman family renewed the court judgment in 2022, with legal documents reportedly showing that Simpson had paid the family $205,000 since the original judgment. Over the years, the money owed with interest to the family has surpassed $176m.
The family had sought to access money from Simpson’s NFL pension and trust accounts without success.
But they did have a victory when Simpson was forced to sell off memorabilia from his famed NFL career, making about $770,000, which went to the Goldman family.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Simpson’s four children – including his son and daughter with murdered ex-wife Nicole – were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements in their father’s final days. Family, friends and medical staff who surrounded the disgraced American football great as he neared death had to sign the agreements for “privacy” reasons, TMZ reported, citing a source.
The 76-year-old Simpson died Wednesday at his Las Vegas home after suffering from prostate cancer.