Serena Williams’ stepmom lives in 'dog house' next to decrepit marital home amid court battle
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: Serena Williams’ stepmother, Lakeisha Graham, is believed to be living in the outhouse of a decaying home, which she shared with her former husband, Richard, before they separated in 2017. The house in West Plam Beach, Florida, is reportedly the Williams sisters’ childhood home, which their father bought in 1995 for $355,000.
Now, the property is at the center of a complicated legal drama after Graham allegedly forged his signature and got the property in her name. She reportedly mortgaged the house for $255,000 after taking money from “hard lender” David Simon. The house will now reportedly go up for auction in September since she failed to pay back the money.
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‘They are just playing games’
Richard's son, Chavoita LeSane, told The US Sun, “As far as I know Lakeisha is living in what we call the 'dog house' next to the main house now. My dad converted a clubhouse into a small studio and I have been told she's living there with Betty [her so-called aunt]. They are just playing games. I have seen some work being done on the house but I don't think it’s really live-able at the moment, it's a mess.”
LeSane continued, “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. We all want to knock it down and build a new house, and it's still going through the courts,” before adding, “We are also pushing forward with the divorce right now, but she's being stubborn about her deposition, there is one last one.”
‘My dad's very astute when it comes to his finances’
In January, Richard told The Sun, “She took everything. But I think she's a very good mom. Junior is in school right now, he's doing extraordinarily well.” LeSane said, “My first concern, as far as Lakeisha and the relationship with my dad, I think began when my dad started having concerns about money disappearing.”
“He would want me to figure out why his [social security] checks stopped coming to him. What was going on? And that really became very alarming to me. I started wondering why his social security checks were even of importance, financially, so it was just very odd. My dad's very astute when it comes to his finances. So social security checks were not like, so great that my dad needed to rely on [them] to take care of himself, month to month,” LeSane explained.
LeSane continued, “I started talking to him and I started realizing I needed to pay more attention to what was going on at the house. I can't remember how long it was into the relationship as far as my dad starting to have financial headaches, like, 'What's going on with my social security checks?' But I just know that there were issues where he was not happy with the way things were being handled with his finances.”