AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File

Things are just going from bad to worse for disgraced former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., who recently plead guilty to misusing $750,000 in campaign funds on personal purchases. Because of this admission, the public may have a chance to buy the items Jackson, Jr. and his wife Sandi illegally purchased with campaign contributions, according to CBS Chicago. A time frame for the auction has yet to be announced, but the list of items that could go up for auction includes flat screen TVs, fur coats, a fedora worn by Michael Jackson, stuffed elk heads, a $43,000 gold-plated Rolex watch, and more.

The Jacksons are awaiting sentencing; he will be sentenced on June 28, his wife on July 1. He faces 46 to 57 months in prison and his wife faces one to two years behind bars, according to federal sentencing guidelines. Once that has been done, those items become the responsibility of U.S. Marshal, said Belkis Sandoval in Chicago, a senior inspector with the U.S. Marshal, reports the TV network. Proceeds from the auction will go toward paying restitution.

Jackson, who has been in and out of the hospital, is still suffering from a bipolar disorder, which caused him to step down from office.

Jackson is looking to make some money, however, with the release of his upcoming memoir.  According to the Chicago Tribune, Jackson wants to use the memoir to “clear up his legacy.” This will be his second book. He previously wrote a book of financial advice called It’s About the Money.

Would you read his memoir?

In honor of the 37^th anniversary of Black History month, the Jordan brand has teamed up with celebrity stylist Don C of Just Don to create 37 pairs of limited edition Air Jordan 1’s. The Air Jordan 1 was originally released in 1985 and has is still popular today.

In addition to the Jordan 1’s, the auction winner will get a signature BMH Just Don Snapback. The BE BOLD auction is happening on eBay and will run through February 28, the end of BHM. And if the celebration of Black History month wasn’t enough, the best part is that the proceeds will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Blended Images/Shitterstock

Could you have something in your attic or basement that is worth thousands? Actress/model Marsha Hunt did. She recently sold the love letters that legendary rocker Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones sent her when the two were an item. Hunt recently auctioned off the letters, which then-25-year-old Jagger penned during the summer of 1969 to his African-American former lover while he was in Australia working on the film Ned Kelly, reports The Grio.

Marsha Hunt in 1969. AP Photo/Sotheby’s/Courtsey of Justin de Villeneuve

The 10 letters were sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $301,472 to a private collector. Initially, they were thought to only be worth $160,000, writes the Associated Press. “When a serious historian finally examines how and why Britain’s boy bands affected international culture and politics, this well-preserved collection of Mick Jagger’s hand written letters will be a revelation,” Hunt said in a statement distributed by the auction house. Jagger reportedly also wrote the 1971 hit song “Brown Sugar” about Hunt, according to TIME. Hunt and Jagger have one child together — daughter Karis Jagger.

Like, Hunt you could have a treasure packed away in storage. If you think you have something valuable, get it checked by an appraiser. Also, go online to sites like eBay and do a search for similar items. Reports eHow, “As a general rule, you can count on an item being of some value if it is more than 15 years old.”

According to MSN, things to look for include gold and silver jewelry, items that have been passed down from generation to generation, special magazine editions, old movie posters, old stocks and bonds, vintage sporting goods such as antique gold clubs, and even old electronic gadgets. “Gazelle.com buys items in 20 categories, including desktop computers, cameras (film and digital), cellphones, even Wii video games,” advises MSN.

Source: WENN

Former CSI actor Gary Dourdan has found himself among the laundry list of Hollywood celebrities with money woes. TMZ  is reporting that the green-eyed actor with a turbulent past filed for Chapter 11 on August 30th this year. The paper’s filed reveal that the Hollywood bad boy has slightly over $1.8 million in assets; however, is 1.73 million dollars in debt. CBS42 reports that he decided to file in an effort to prevent Wells Fargo from putting his Venice, CA, home up for auction.

A large percentage of that debt, 1.689,705 million, to be exact, is owed to several banks. Of those banks, one actually holds the mortgage for his home, which could be in danger of being in default. Now, this is probably something we’re all used to hearing about since there always seems to be one celeb or another making headlines for not properly handling their funds, but what leaves many scratching their heads and raising their eyebrows in amazement is the rundown of his assets, which TMZ briefly lists.

$200 cash, $3k in a bank account, $4k in furniture, $200 worth of books, $1,500 in clothes, $500 in watches … oh and a 2006 Dodge Charger worth $7,000.

Wait, it gets more interesting.

Gary says his disposable income is only $321 a month … claiming his bills ($14,562 a month) eat up just about all of the $14,883 he pulls in on average.

Now, I’m not a mathematician, but most would simply cut back on their expenses when found in a situation such as this one. The whereabouts of his accountant should be the real question that people are asking. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, the 45-year-old actor remains optimistic. He shared with TMZ that he is anticipating some pretty huge acting gigs will be coming his way in the near future, which will assist him in resolving his debt issues, but many doubt this since he has yet to land any major roles since departing from CSI in 2008. We hope he’s right and maybe next time he will do a better job of managing his money.

By Brittany Hutson

It looks like Wall Street’s up to their dirty tricks again. This time, they are devising new ways to prey on distressed homeowners. According to the Center for Public Integrity, financial institutions, including those who received federal bailout money, are bundling small tax debts into private investments, leaving homeowners in debt and, for some, in foreclosure.

In a most recent example, the Center reports that Bank of America and hedge fund Fortress Investment Group joined forces to collect tax debts of tens of thousands of people. The duo added interest charges and fees, then proceeded to bundle the debts as securities for investors. In early May and June, proxies for the institutions quietly bought hundreds of homeowners’ property tax debts worth millions of dollars in Florida by bidding at online auctions held by county tax collectors. The proxies assumed multiple identities and repeatedly bid on the same parcels, in one case, more than 8,000 times.

Then in September, Bank of America’s securities division packaged $301 million worth of acquired tax liens into bonds and pitched them privately to major investors for an anticipated and estimated return between 7 and 10 percent.

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund found that unfortunately, there is no current regulation of the $5 billion tax lien market and no protection for property owners. University of Michigan’s commercial law expert John Pottow told the Center that the growth of private sales of tax liens will result in more foreclosures.

But veterans of the tax-lien trade say that lien sales help cash-strapped cities and counties efficiently collect millions in overdue taxes and other municipal bills. Homeowners can avoid trouble by paying their taxes on time and for those who can’t, they are offered a loan, which can accumulate high interest charges and fees.

The “tax sale” auctions are a great vehicle for private investors because in cyberspace, buyers are anonymous and in a matter of minutes, millions of dollars are transferred. These transactions may leave homeowners with the prospect of losing their property over debts that could actually be as small as a few hundred dollars. In the past,  local real estate investors had to bid at auctions in person, which would take days.

So this is the return on American taxpayer dollars—Wall Street getting a slap on the wrist and leeway to go back to doing underhanded schemes, which were largely responsible for the position this country was placed in nearly three years ago.  They obviously haven’t learned their lesson from the subprime mortgage fiasco. It’s this type of greed that slows the economic recovery and keeps people susceptible to overwhelming amounts of debt. So, who’s going to stop Wall Street now, if at all?

(AP) – Philadelphia’s two main daily newspapers go on the auction block next week as the publications’ current owners and their creditors remain locked in a bitter dispute for control after more than a year in bankruptcy protection.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News could stay in local hands and shed about $300 million in debt if housing executive Bruce Toll and other local investors prevail at Tuesday’s closed-door auction in New York. That group said Wednesday that it will revise its initial bid before Friday’s deadline.

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