Judge Denies Deion Sanders' Son Shilo's Request to Dismiss Bankruptcy Case

A federal judge denied a request by Colorado safety Shilo Sanders to dismiss a complaint in connection to his bankruptcy case, according to USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer.

Schrotenboer previously reported Sanders filed for bankruptcy, citing debts incurred when a default judgment went against him in a 2022 civil trial.

A security guard from Sanders' high school, John Darjean, had filed suit, claiming to have suffered permanent injuries as the result from an alleged assault by Sanders in 2015. Sanders didn't appear for the trial, so Darjean was awarded $11.89 million by default.

According to The Athletic's Christopher Kamrani, Sanders said in his bankruptcy filing he made a gross income of $193,713 in 2023 and listed among his assets a 2023 Mercedes GLE worth $75,900.

Darjean countered that Sanders' net worth is higher than what he portrayed in the filing, alleging the graduate student transferred money into one of his LLCs. Judge Michael Romero found the argument compelling, per Schrotenboer.

"The Complaint contains sufficient allegations that Sanders's companies function as his alter egos and that the corporate veils of the LLCs should be pierced," Romero wrote in his ruling.

The judge, however, conceded that Darjean "faces a high burden to demonstrate all necessary factors at trial" in terms of finding grounds to actually pierce the veil of Sanders' LLCs.

Sportico's Michael McCann wrote that Romero's ruling was itself "a win for Darjean" albeit "in language that favors Sanders."

Darjean has until June 27 to submit an amended complaint to the court.

Sanders is approaching his final season of college. He started his career at South Carolina in 2019 before transferring to Jackson State in 2021 to play under his father, Deion Sanders. He subsequently followed Deion to Colorado, appearing in 11 games and finishing with 69 tackles and one interception in 2023.