Bay Area radio star declares bankruptcy

Daily Mail​

a day ago

A longtime Bay Area radio legend and his wife have declared bankruptcy as their daughter faces charges for allegedly lying that a former Bachelor star had gotten her pregnant with twins. Ronn Owens, 79, a longtime anchor at KGO, and his wife, Jan Black, submitted a chapter 13 filing to a federal court in Arizona last week, stipulating that they have $2.3 million in liabilities and owe over $511,000 to more than 40 banks, credit card companies and other creditors, The Mercury News reports. It comes eight months after Owens promoted an online fundraiser to raise money for his family, saying they were dealing with 'overwhelming' financial difficulties' amid his 'profound' health challenges.
Black, a former reporter for KCBS, said the filing 'stands as objective evidence of the reality of our financial challenges and the necessity of the GoFundMe fundraiser,' which she said remains 'active and crucial as we work to restructure our finances and move forward.' As of Tuesday evening, it had raised more than $131,600 for the Owens family - with some even making monthly contributions. But the bankruptcy filing shows that a significant portion of Owens and Black's debt, more than $400,000, was incurred in the first half of this year - after the GoFundMe was launched.
It describes how they owe $300,000 in credit card debt to creditors like American Express and seven separate Bank of America accounts, and notes that Ronn is being sued by JP Morgan Chase for failing to pay $51,000. The couple, who were once considered Bay Area media royalty, have also claimed they have $6,640 in monthly payments - not including their $14,188 monthly mortgage, which they apparently stopped paying. Yet their pensions and Social Security income, which totals $21,000 a month, more than covers their $150-a-month medical and dental care as well as their $225 supplemental health insurance.
Owens and Black are also only paying $1,500 for life insurance and $425 for insurance on their daughter's horses. The couple should have also had some money from selling their longtime San Francisco home for $3.5 million in 2020, as the home they had purchased in Scottsdale, Arizona is now valued at $1.5 million. But the anonymous friends and family members who created the GoFundMe last year insinuated that the funds could help pay for health-related expenses. Owens has Parkinson's disease and survived four bouts of cancer. He also suffers from 'some serious heart issues,' according to The Mercury News.
The fundraiser noted that Owens' medical struggles have since 'taken a toll, both physically and financially,' and the couple previously said that their supplemental health insurance does not cover all the 'residual' health care expenses following Owens' multiple health crisis, which also include COVID and pneumonia. They told The Mercury News earlier this year that Owens has spent up to six months in hospitals over the past few years, and when he returned home he needed an in-home caregiver. It now remains unclear how the couple may have used the money they received from the GoFundMe, as Black said that the pending bankruptcy litigation limits what they can share publicly. Still, she said the money 'has been a lifeline during a period that often felt hopeless.
'We truly do not know how we would have navigated these months without their support.' She also denied rumors that some of the money is being used to help fund their daughter Laura's legal expenses, which experts have said could run into six figures. Prosecutors have said the 34-year-old doctored a sonogram and pregnancy video, and even lied under oath, as she tried to get former Bachelor star Clayton Echard to take a paternity test. According to court documents, Laura testified in November 2023 that she was 24 weeks pregnant with twins and Echard was the father.
But she dropped her paternity suit at the end of that year, saying she had miscarried at some point without knowing it. Court records in both Arizona and San Francisco show that Laura has previously made similar allegations against three other men since 2014, claiming each time she either had abortions or miscarriages. Echard's attorney, Gregg Woodnick, has since called Laura a 'serial fraud' in a court declaration. Still, the Owens family has stood by Laura's claim that she was pregnant with Echard's children - and insisted that she was pregnant each of the times she claimed she was.
In a statement after she was indicted on seven felony counts of perjury, fraud, forgery and evidence tampering, Laura argued that the charges 'appear to be the product of intense public pressure, not impartial judgment. 'They reflect a system that responded to online outrage, ignored procedural protections, and moved forward based on narrative rather than fact,' she claimed. 'It is difficult not to see them as part of a broader effort to discredit me, discourage me, and make an example out of me,' it continued. 'I intend to meet these accusations head-on - and I will defend myself, fully and relentlessly, through every step of this process.'
Reflecting on the allegations against her daughter amid the bankruptcy, Black blasted the Justice for Clayton community, saying its campaign against her and her husband 'has been relentless and deeply damaging.' She went on to say she and her husband have been forced to supplement their pensions and Social Security income with side ventures, but they have been 'significantly impacted by ongoing harassment and reputational attacks.' Having to file for bankruptcy has also been 'deeply intrusive and emotionally exhausting.'
When Owens first promoted the online fundraiser in 2024, he also said it was difficult to 'admit that the financial strain has become overwhelming on top of everything else. 'For 48 years, I poured my heart into KGO, sharing stories, sparking conversations and connecting with you all,' he wrote. He added that he never imagined he would be in a position in which he would need to ask for help, 'but here I am asking for a little help from the community that has meant so much to me.'