Colorado football safety Shilo Sanders hasn’t kept up on his payments for his 2023 Mercedes-Benz, leading the car company’s financial services arm to seek relief from the court where Sanders filed for bankruptcy in 2023 with more than $11 million in debt, according to court records filed Tuesday by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.
The company said Sanders, son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, was past due for $6,877 on his monthly payments from December through February. It also noted Sanders has an outstanding balance of $97,239 while the trade-in value for the car is less than that at $97,000.
As a result, the company wants the court’s permission to take possession of the car and for Sanders to provide the location of it.
Why Mercedes is making this move now
Sanders, an NFL draft prospect, filed for bankruptcy in October 2023, hoping to discharge more than $11 million in debt – almost all of it owed to one man, John Darjean, a security guard from his former school in Texas.
The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing triggered an automatic stay or hold on debt collection efforts against him. But Mercedes-Benz Financial Services now is arguing it should be entitled to relief from this stay under these circumstances.
“The motor vehicle is depreciating in value, the contract is in default and the movant (Mercedes Benz Financial Services) is being prevented by the automatic stay from exercising its remedies to repossess and liquidate its collateral, the motor vehicle,” said the filing from Mercedes Benz Financial Services and its creditor attorney Doug Koktavy.
Records show Shilo Sanders, 25, agreed to buy the $135,000 car with installment payments in May 2023, several months before he filed for bankruptcy. He continued to make payments after filing for bankruptcy but recently defaulted, according to the company.
“Debtor (Sanders) indicated an intent to retain the motor vehicle and reaffirm the obligation,” the company’s filing stated. “Debtor has not accomplished this intention.”
Shilo Sanders’ debt stems from an incident 10 years ago
Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy case stems from an incident in 2015, when Darjean said Shilo caused him severe and permanent injuries as he tried to confiscate his phone at school. Shilo was only 15 years old at the time and said he acted in self-defense and that Darjean was the aggressor. But Darjean sued Shilo for damages. And when the case finally went to trial in Dallas in 2022, Shilo didn’t show up, leading to a default judgment against him of $11.89 million.
Shilo then filed for bankruptcy, hoping for a “fresh start” free of that debt. In response, Darjean is still fighting to get what he is owed from that judgment and has filed two complaints that seek to prevent the debt from being discharged.
The filing by Mercedes-Benz this week comes as Shilo Sanders is preparing for the NFL draft later this month. It’s not clear if he will be drafted, but even if he’s not, he is expected to get a shot with an NFL team as an undrafted free agent.
If the debt isn’t discharged by the court, Darjean still could pursue debt collection against Shilo Sanders in the future. If it is discharged by the court, Darjean likely only will collect a small fraction of the judgment he’s owed from Shilo Sanders.
Sanders’ attorney didn’t return a message seeking comment.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com