Are legal fees breaking Bill Cosby’s bank?

Bill Cosby has denied wrongdoing saying any encounters with his accusers were consensual.

THE sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby have not only dented his reputation, but also apparently damaged his finances.

The disgraced comedian is now reportedly shopping for a US$30million (S$41-million) loan – with his 12,000 sq ft Manhattan townhouse as collateral – to settle his mounting legal bills.

The 80-year-old, who has been accused of sexual misdeeds by more than 50 women, faces a retrial in spring.

Earlier this year, his first trial – over an alleged sexual assault of former Temple University employee Andrea Costand – ended with a hung jury. His legal team now includes Mr Tom Mesereau, who was Michael Jackson’s defence lawyer when the singer was accused of child molestation in 2005.

Page Six TV reported that Cosby bought the six-storey townhouse in 1987 for US$6.2 million and reportedly spent another US$1.2 million to spruce it up.

“Cosby is looking for a US$30-million hard money loan against the house. Which means Cosby must be desperate because the banks won’t give him money.

“Hard money loans have high interest rates and are usually repaid in a short time, such as a year,” Page Six TV cited a source as saying.

The source noted that banks are wary that they may not be able to dispose of the property if the loan cannot be repaid.

There are fears that would-be buyers would not be keen on a house owned by Cosby.

Meanwhile, two of his accusers are demanding that he be immediately removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

It recently kicked out producer Harvey Weinstein after numerous women opened up about his sexual harassment over several decades. – straitstimes.com