SERENA Williams’ stubborn stepmom is refusing to move from the star’s crumbling childhood home as she battles Serena’s father Richard in court, and she’s been making major changes.
Lakeisha Graham, who married the former tennis coach, now 81, in 2010, admitted in court documents to forging his signature on the title deeds to transfer the home into her name.
The 44-year-old and her so-called “aunt” and business partner, Betty Dowling, are allegedly holed up at the four-bedroom property in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
According to Richard’s son, Chavoita LeSane, they have managed to pay for the front of the roof to be repaired and are hoping to do major work on the house in the coming months.
But Richard’s family is desperate to get the property back and tear it down to build a new house on the land.
Chavoita told The U.S. Sun that Lakeisha is living in what they nicknamed the “doghouse,” which is an outhouse next to the main abode that his dad converted into a one-bed studio.
“I have seen some work being done on the house but I don’t think it’s really live-able right now,” Chavoita said, adding that he has seen improvements made to the crumbling roof.
Photographs previously obtained by The U.S. Sun show the property has been left to rot amid the legal battle, with a giant hole in the front of the home.
“Lakeisha wanted my dad to write a check for the house so the deed will become free and clear, but he’s not doing it,” Chavoita said.
“We all want to knock it down and build a new house. “We are pushing forward with the divorce right now, but she’s being stubborn about her deposition, there is one last one.”
Court documents from 2017 show Serena was accused of telling her stepmom to leave the family home. Lakeisha told a judge that a letter from the tennis star’s lawyers “threatened to change the locks” if she did not vacate the property with their young son, Dylan, now 10.
The six-time U.S. Open champ has never responded publicly to those claims despite comment calls from The U.S. Sun.
After transferring the home into her name, Lakeisha allegedly took out a loan with “hard lender” David Simon, which she blew on a failed trucking business and “fast food and frivolities,” according to court docs.
Filings show she is now claiming to be living off Betty for an income to help repay her debts, but Simon alleges that she’s restarted her trucking business.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Lakeisha and her lawyer for comment but did not hear back.
Richard bought the 10-acre Florida property in 1995.
The couple married in 2010 when Lakeisha, a former Miami stripper, was 32 and Richard was 69.
Although Serena and Venus’ father has been declared legally single, his divorce has still not been finalized.
ONGOING DEBT ISSUES
The U.S. Sun previously revealed Lakeisha’s current predicament isn’t the first time she’s found herself in financial difficulty, having lost a previous home in 2009.
Court documents show she was in disastrous debt just a few years before her life changed, when she met millionaire and legendary tennis coach Richard.
Repossession of Richard’s home now seems inevitable despite Lakeisha filing three times for Chapter 13 bankruptcy to stall proceedings.
Now, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in charge of her case, Robin Weiner, has had enough with her persistent non-payment and filed a motion for the latest bankruptcy to be dismissed due to the “failure to make required payments under the plan.”
Weiner goes on to recommend “it is in the best interest of the creditors and the estate that this petition under Chapter 13 is dismissed.” This means that the house can be sold at auction to pay off the creditors.
There are a staggering 20 companies chasing after Lakeisha, whose only asset is the house, which was valued at $1.4million but is worth only half that due to its current state.
