‘Catwoman’ Jocelyn Wildenstein was facing arrest at the time of her death for ignoring multiple court orders related to an unpaid $344,000 debt, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Judge Migna Sanchez-Llorens issued a writ of bodily attachment after the plastic surgery-loving socialite failed to attend an October 23 contempt hearing in Miami.
The shocking order directed sheriffs across the Sunshine State to take 84-year-old Wildenstein into custody and even lock her up in jail until she could be taken to court.
Wildenstein had reportedly taken up temporary residence in Paris when she died in her sleep Tuesday from a pulmonary embolism.
It’s unclear whether she was planning to return to the US where she also faced being booted out of her Miami Beach apartment in a separate eviction suit filed just weeks ago.
Court records obtained by DailyMail.com reveal that Wildenstein allegedly owed Regal Jewelry and Gift Shop $268,000 for gems she never returned to them, plus a further $75,928 in interest.
The debt dates back to her 2018 bankruptcy case but when it went unpaid the firm took further legal action in Miami, where she’s been living for the past several years.
When Wildenstein blew through deadlines to hand over documents and schedule a deposition, the firm’s lawyers asked the court to hold her in contempt.
Late socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein was last seen looking healthy on December 18 in Paris. She had been facing arrest over unpaid debts at the time of her death on New Year’s Eve, DailyMail.com can reveal
Wildenstein, who was once the wealthiest people in the world after scoring her infamous divorce settlement, died at the age of 84
Judge Sanchez-Llorens wrote on November 4: ‘Defendant may be confined in the Miami-Dade County Jail until the earliest possible time that she can be brought before the Court.
‘However, Defendant may be released upon the posting of a bond in the amount of $1,000.00.’
A case management conference was scheduled for January 14 but it’s uncertain whether it was going to proceed after her lawyer, David Valero, withdrew from proceedings last month.
Valero responded via email: ‘I am sorry but I cannot comment on this matter’.
Had Wildenstein ended up behind bars it would have been the second high profile arrest for the free-spending octogenarian who was famously locked up for clawing boyfriend Lloyd Klein in the face.
The pair later patched up their differences and rejoiced when the case was dismissed before announcing their 2017 engagement in an interview with DailyMail.com.
Mom-of-two Wildenstein was once one of the wealthiest divorcees on the planet after she bagged a $2.5 billion settlement after splitting from her art dealer ex-husband Alec Wildenstein in 1999.
She was rumored to spend as much as $1million until a shocking bankruptcy filing revealed that she had nothing left in her checking account and was surviving on $900 per month in social security benefits.
Court records obtained by DailyMail.com reveal a court-ordered arrest of Wildenstein who allegedly owed Regal Jewelry and Gift Shop $268,000 for gems she never returned to them, plus a further $75,928 in interest
Jocelyn Wildenstein’s longtime partner Lloyd Klein described finding her unresponsive and revealed the Swiss socialite died while taking a nap on Tuesday in Paris
Wildenstein had been living in Miami for the past several years with longtime fiancé Lloyd Klein. They were pictured by DailyMail.com enjoying a luxury beach getaway in Miami Beach last August
Wildenstein’s opulent New York residence, comprising three adjoining apartments in the swank Trump World Tower, was sold off to settle debts totaling $6.38million.
But her housing woes continued in the Sunshine State where earlier this year she was kicked out of a $4,000-per-month Miami Beach apartment Klein had leased for her.
According to an October 2023 complaint, the couple owed $12,000 in unpaid rent on the pricey two-bed property a block from the ocean.
Fashion designer Klein, 57, clapped back in his counter-filing, insisting the property had ‘significant mold damages and gaping holes in the ceiling’.
‘The condition of the property was such that the rental value of the property was not what the defendant bargained for … defendant should not be obligated to pay rent under the lease,’ he added.
A judge ruled that was not sufficient grounds to withhold rent and an eviction notice was served in April.
Jocelyn won a $2.5billion settlement from the divorce from Alec Wildenstein with a $100million payment each year thereafter. But the payments stopped in 2015 when his family cut her off, she claimed
Jocelyn rose to international fame amid her divorce from renowned art dealer Alec in the 1990s. She claims his infidelity led her to file for divorce
More recently, Wildenstein appeared to have taken up residence at another Miami Beach property under a complicated legal arrangement.
According to a December 12 lawsuit, her $800,000 condo was owned by an entity named Apartment Inc., which described itself as trustee of the Jocelyn Trust.
She was granted permission to live there so long as she covered the taxes, maintenance and utilities, but the complaint said she failed to do so.
The court never received any reply from Wildenstein, who looked to be happy, healthy and in good spirits when she was last seen publicly on a date night with Klein in Paris on December 18.
The Swiss-born star came from humble origins before she wed Wildenstein, the son of the French art dealer and horse breeder Daniel Wildenstein, in 1978.
Wildenstein, pictured in her youth, somehow managed to squander her fortune after years of tinkering with her face and spending on countless luxuries
The socialite earned the nickname ‘Catwoman’ because she reportedly had many facial cosmetic procedures in the hopes of resembling a cat. She is seen left in 1998 and right in 2005
He filed for divorce in his homeland hoping Jocelyn was less likely to win a significant divorce settlement – but she walked away with a reported $2.5billion plus a pledge to pay her $100million per year for 13 years.
Her ex-husband’s family cut off the payments in 2015, however, sending her finances into a spiral.
Despite obtaining more wealth than most people could ever imagine, Wildenstein managed to fritter it away through extravagant purchases on plastic surgery, clothing, jewels, art and even tens of thousands of dollars in annual phone bills.
Court records show a judgment in the ongoing debt case was filed back in 2021
Court documents show Wildenstein appeared to have taken up residence in this Miami Beach property under a complicated legal arrangement
Wildenstein’s former opulent New York residence, comprising three adjoining apartments in the swank Trump World Tower, was sold off to settle debts totaling $6.38million.
She once claimed that the vast majority of her wealth disappeared because one of the paintings that was part of the trust set up for her in the divorce settlement, attributed to Diego Velázquez, turned out to be a forgery.
Meanwhile a Cézanne that was expected to go for around $35million on auction only sold for $4.7million, she told the New York Post.
Despite the obvious facial surgeries that dramatically changed her face that earned her the moniker ‘catwoman,’ Wildenstein routinely denied going under the knife.
She and Klein never got around to marrying but the pair were inseparable.
‘She died in her sleep very peacefully,’ he told People magazine in the wake of her passing.
‘It’s very sad. It’s extremely sad. It’s extremely sad to lay down with your other half that I know for 21 years and waiting to celebrate New Year’s Eve and to find her cold.’