The Broke and the Beautiful: Octomom Redux Edition

This week on The Broke and the Beautiful, Nadya “Octomom” Suleman said she still believes in homeownership, and Lenny Dykstra pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud. Also, Curt Schilling’s videogame company is under investigation.

Last week, we mentioned the foreclosure of the California home Nadya Suleman, better known as Octomom, lives in with her 14 children. This week, our colleagues over at the Developments blog had a one-on-one with Suleman, who’s looking to raise money for a new house. Suleman, whose bankruptcy case was dismissed after she failed to file the proper paperwork, wouldn’t talk about the foreclosure but said she’d be grateful for a bit more time in her house. But “the goal is to move as soon as possible,” she told Developments. “With all these opportunities coming our way, we’re going to be moving soon.”

Suleman hopes those opportunities result in enough money for a down payment on a six-bedroom or seven-bedroom home in a gated community. “I just believe buying is a lot more realistic, a lot more practical” than renting, said Suleman, who’s been endorsing payday loans, promoting sexually explicit videos and talking to fans via Dial-a-Star.

Actor Armand Assante filed for bankruptcy last October under the threat of foreclosure, and now he’s trying to sell some of his property in upstate New York. As Bankruptcy Beat reported Thursday, Assante is seeking approval to sell 100 acres of his property in Campbell Hall at an auction in August. Assante, who’s taken roles in movies including “Striptease” and “American Gangster,” hopes the auction settles his debt with Eastern Savings Bank, which lent him $1.5 million to refinance in 2005.

Former All-Star turned financial guru Lenny “Nails” Dykstra  copped a plea. According to the Los Angeles Times, Dykstra struck a plea deal on bankruptcy-fraud charges after he allegedly ransacked his own house of valuables. Prosecutors say the former New York Mets player sold items including a $50,000 sink, chandeliers and sports memorabilia, assets that should have been kept to help repay creditors. The Times noted that Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Ty Thomas said a thrift store in West Los Angeles allegedly paid Dykstra cash for a U-Haul full of items.

Meanwhile, Dykstra’s former Phillies teammate Curt Schilling has been getting rocked since his videogame company, 38 Studios LLC, crashed into bankruptcy. The former Red Sox player, who last week partially blamed Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee for his company’s failure, had already taken steps toward putting his company in bankruptcy when Chafee publicly mentioned the company’s financial troubles. According to the Associated Press, 38 Studios’ board approved a bankruptcy filing sometime around May 14, the same day Chafee first spoke out.

But that’s not all for Schilling. According to Providence Business News, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. hired a law firm to investigate “third parties” connected to 38 Studios’ loan guarantee. Providence-based Wistow & Barylick will work with 38 Studios’ forensic audit team, commissioned by the state, to look for liable third parties and recoup lost taxpayer money.

Show us the memoir? Famed sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who filed for bankruptcy in January,  inspired a popular 1996 movie, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s planning to write a book about his life. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the memoir, which will focus on Steinberg’s attempts to try to reclaim his status, will be published by an imprint of St. Martin’s Press in 2014.

Write to Melanie Cohen at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @MelanieLisa.