A mistake from a decade ago is still costing Shilo Sanders, and a new ruling in his $11.9 million bankruptcy case proves the drama is far from over. He’s back in the spotlight after a new ruling.

Josh Darjean, the security guard caught up in the saga, wants the money he is owed. His legal team is trying to not let Shilo’s bankruptcy case prevent that. As per USA Today reports, he has been asking the court for summary judgment. This would strengthen his argument that Shilo delivered a “willful and malicious” injury back in 2015.

 Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero shot down the request again on January 27. He pushed the case toward trial, more than two years after the former Colorado safety filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2023.

“The Court finds there are genuine issues of material fact regarding the circumstances of the altercation between the parties, as well as Sanders’ state of mind,”  the Judge wrote, as obtained by USA TODAY Sports. “Given that this Court is prohibited from engaging in fact-finding or evaluating credibility at the summary judgment stage, these issues are appropriate for trial.” This is not to say that the judge necessarily disagrees with Darjean, but rather that issues like this are legally decided during the trial and not before.

On September 17, 2015, 15-year-old Shilo, then a student at Focus Learning Academy in Texas, allegedly attacked campus security guard Darjean after being confronted for using his cell phone. Darjean later sued in Dallas County District Court, claiming the incident caused “permanent neurological injuries” and damage to his cervical spine. Initially, even Shilo’s parents were named as defendants. But the court dropped them as parties and only Shilo remained.

When asked about this case in 2024, Deion Sanders called for clarity from the reporter, “I want you to do this for me… I want you to do your homework and do a whole investigation on that and then write that. I mean the whole complete investigation on what truly happened.”

The case went to trial in March 2022, just months after Shilo wrapped up his first season at Jackson State. But the son of the famous Hall of Famer did not respond to any of the trial notices and failed to appear during the trial date. A jury found him liable and ordered him to pay $11.9 million to Darjean and an additional $214,621 to the insurance company that provided Darjean’s workers’ compensation coverage.

Shilo faced additional trouble last October, when the case’s trustee, David Wadsworth, filed a complaint against Deion’s son, alleging that he transferred roughly $250,000 from his company, Big 21 LLC. As the funds became part of the bankruptcy estate after the filing, Shilo no longer had a claim to them. As a result, he allegedly violated the automatic stay. 

“Nevertheless… the Trustee did not authorize transfers that totaled approximately $250,000.00 out of Defendant Big 21’s bank account after the Petition Date for the benefit of the Debtor,” read the complaint. 

Shilo Sanders faces legal challenges on two fronts

Darjean has two ongoing lawsuits against Shilo. On January 27, Judge Michael Romero approved a request from Darjean’s legal team to temporarily pause one of the two lawsuits. Both of the cases focus on blocking Shilo from shedding an $11 million debt in bankruptcy. However, Darjean’s attorneys are choosing to push their strongest argument forward against Shilo. 

“I’m sure this is not the end of this,” warned the judge. 

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At the heart of Darjean’s legal push is a Section 523 (a) (6) claim. It’s a bankruptcy law that bars debts from being discharged if they arise from a “willful or malicious” injury. Shilo had claimed that the attack was done in self defense.

It is also not looking good from a football standpoint as Shilo finds himself without a team after being waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the 2026 season.

While the legal battle over the $11 million judgment intensifies, Sanders has continued to maintain a high-profile public life, recently walking the runway in Paris alongside his brother, Shedeur Sanders.

That’s how Shilo carries on, undeterred, waiting to see how this bankruptcy saga takes a turn in the future.