As you may have heard, Tori Spelling is broke.
We don’t mean she’s “forced to sell her yacht to J.K. Rowling, Johnny Depp broke.”
(Fun fact: Johnny Depp literally sold his yacht to J.K. Rowling to cover his debts.)
We mean she’s “sell the house, default on the credit cards, one step away from welcoming you to Wal-Mart broke.”
Tori’s debt is massive, and sources close to the actress say her situation appears to be getting worse by the day.
She and husband Dean McDermott are currently buried beneath six figures in credit card debt and back taxes.
To make matters worse, McDermott owes thousands in back child support to his first wife, Mary Jo Eustace.
Tori and Dean have thus far managed to keep their heads above water, thanks in large part to help from Tori’s wealthy mother.
But child support and federal taxes are two of the worst kinds of debt, and the couple’s financial issues may soon become serious legal woes.
“All their debts, which just keep growing and growing, have put them so deep in the hole that it seems there may be no way out,” a source close to the couple tells Star magazine.
“But what’s truly scary is how much they owe the government. Having their money actually seized shows just how serious their problems are. Tori’s running out of options, and the walls are closing in.”
The tabloid spoke with a New York criminal prosecutor who’s prosecuted numerous cases in which wealthy debotrs wind up incriminating themselves with fraudulent claims:
“Should Spelling continue to default on paying back the back loan in full, plus interest, the courts have discretion on punishments in situations like that,” attorney Brooke Camhi tells Star.
“While not the likely outcome, jail time certainly would be an option afforded to the court. At the moment this is not a criminal case. But if there is any kind of fraud happening, Tori could do time…”
Yes, it seems Tori is not under immediate threat of criminal prosecution, and she’ll likely find a way to keep out of court.
(We really can’t overstate how wealthy Tori’s mother is.)
Her husband’s situation isn’t quite so encouraging.
McDermott’s child support debts have nearly landed him behind bars in the past, and it seems he’s done little to rectify the situation.
“He might have weaseled his way out of jail the first time, but if he doesn’t pay Mary Jo wahat he promised, he could still wind up behind bars,” says one insider.
Whatever the case, it seems the couple will continue to lean very heavily on the generosity of Tori’s mom, Candy Spelling.
“Candy pays [Tori’s] rent, private school tuition for the kids and even stepped up after Tori maxed out her credit cards to buy groceries,” an insider tells Star.
“I hear that Tori’s been begging Candy for a $ 700,000 loan to cover her debts, but she hasn’t agreed to that yet.”
We suppose you have to draw the line somewhere.
Most parents would’ve cut the cord a few million dollars ago, but everything is relative …