O.J. Simpson, the late football star infamously acquitted of murder charges in the 1990s, reportedly utilized a network of all-cash business transactions to shield income from the families of his victims, his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. Following his 1995 criminal trial acquittal, Simpson was found liable for the deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman in a civil trial, with a court ordering him to pay $33 million in damages to their families.
Despite earning income from private autograph signings, podcast appearances, and golf engagements since his release from prison in 2017 after being convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping, and other charges, Simpson allegedly evaded his financial obligations by demanding payment exclusively in cash, The New York Post reported this week. According to the outlet’s sources, Simpson, who died at 76 in Las Vegas April 10 of prostate cancer, reportedly accepted cash payments, making it difficult to track his actual income and assets.
O.J. Simpson’s Cash Hustle
“He would sign anything except anything that had to do with the trial or murder,” The Post said it was told. “The stipulation was always that he had to be paid in cash.”
Records reveal that Simpson has only paid a small fraction of the court-ordered damages, reportedly remitting just $123,000 towards the outstanding balance. Efforts to enforce payment included the sale of Simpson’s Heisman Trophy and the potential proceeds from his controversial book, “If I Did It.” Simpson’s book “If I Did It,” scheduled for release in 2006, was canceled due to public outrage over its content. The book purported to be a hypothetical account of how Simpson would have committed the murders of Brown Simpson and Goldman, if he were to have done so.
The Goldmans published the book under the title “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer,” with a bloody shoe print on the cover.
Simpson’s debt to the victims’ families has reportedly escalated to nearly $100 million. In March 2021, a Nevada garnishment case stated that Simpson owed “$75,164,425.74,” The Daily Mail reported.
Simpson, in addition to being one football’s highest-paid running back of his era, was also a much-sought after ad pitchman, TV broadcaster and movie star. At the time of his death, his estate was estimated to be around $3 million. The Goldman family lawyer has vowed to go after the estate for payment of the debt.
Simpson is survived by four children: Arnelle and Jason, from his first marriage, and Sydney and Justin, from his marriage to Brown Simpson.
Simpson’s financial situation was further complicated by a 2008 conviction for armed robbery for which he served nine years of a 33-year sentence. This resulted in a significant interruption to his earning potential.
“With being paid everything in cash, there was no way to document how much money he had access to,” the source told The Post.
The families of Brown Simpson and Goldman have long sought to recover the court-ordered damages from O.J. Simpson, who lived in Miami for about seven years where by state law the victims’ families could not not seize his pensions from the NFL and the Screen Actors Guild or Simpson’s house.
In the year 2000, Simpson purchased a 4,148-square-foot house Kendall, Florida, for $575,000. He resided there with his children Justin, who was 12 years old at the time, and Sydney, who was 15. Sydney had previously been living with Nicole’s parents until Simpson regained custody.
