When Helping A Friend Goes Wrong: Will Smith Gets Called Into Court On $1.4 Million Loan to Duane Martin
Things seemed fine until Duane and Tisha Campbell-Martin filed for bankruptcy and then divorced. The home wasn’t listed as an asset in the bankruptcy but court docs reveal Tisha snitched on Duane, telling the trustee he hid the home in question in the bankruptcy. The trustee then sued Duane, demanding he turn over the pad to help pay off his many creditors.
The revelations are a part of the lawsuit filed back in September, where the trustee in Duane and Tisha Campbell-Martin’s bankruptcy sued Duane because the trustee believed he hid assets of $2.6 million under a company named Roxe LLC.
The trustee alleged that Duane set up Roxe LLC to allegedly conceal ownership of a 9,000 sq. ft. mansion in Chatsworth, California. Duane originally bought the home in 2006 for $900,000. He then borrowed $1.9 million for the purpose of constructing the “Martin family home.”
Duane then defaulted on his loan and negotiated a short sale with the bank, and he used Roxe to buy the home back from the bank, using the $1.4 million loan from Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Roxe LLC became the owner and Duane and Tisha allegedly entered into a lease with their own company to pay rent of $5,000 per month.
In early 2018, Duane listed the home for $2,695,000 with the intention of pocketing all of the sales proceeds, after paying back Will and Jada, meaning he would pocket $1.3 million if sold at asking price.
Back in February, court docs filed revealed Will Smith had been subpoenaed by the trustee and was forced to turn over financial records and private emails and texts with Duane Martin regarding the loan and home.
The suit is demanding Duane be forced to turn over the home to the bankruptcy estate and used to benefit his creditors. To be clear, there are no allegations that Will or Jada did anything wrong or had any knowledge of any alleged wrongdoings. Martin has also denied any wrongdoing.
The trustee believed the documents were the evidence to prove Duane committed fraud, showing him put pressure on Will Smith to loan him the money quickly.
The case is ongoing.
