The inspirational American Idol winner owes a Florida credit company $65,000 - money she borrowed in 2006 to pay back taxes she owed the IRS

UPDATE: Charlotte-based attorney Larry Goldman said Saturday in an e-mail to The Associated Press the two sides have worked out the matter


The inspirational American Idol winner owes a Florida credit company $65,000 - money she borrowed in 2006 to pay back taxes she owed the IRS. The singer made a $10,000 payment in August 2007. But she never paid the rest, so the company won the right in court last month to auction off her house for the balance. Mecklenburg County sheriff's deputies, who are responsible for enforcing civil court orders, have tried at least a dozen times to reach Barrino at the home and by phone, said Sgt. J.W. England, a supervisor of civil judgments. A deputy spoke a couple of times to Barrino's mother, but never reached the star, who appears to be ignoring attempts to save her house, officials said. "We try very hard and give the defendant every opportunity to pay," England said yesterday.

So it looks like Fantasia may lose her $1.3 million home in a debtor's auction that was set for noon last Monday. But it seems like she's not too worried about it since, over the course of a year, Barrino has never responded to court documents, and no lawyer ever appeared in court to represent her. Barrino, 24, has made no payments and filed no documents since The Post reported a court-ordered lien on the property in Charlotte's upscale Piper Glen neighborhood last month. Larry Goldman, a Charlotte attorney representing the credit company, Broward Energy Management said he never heard from Barrino's representatives until after the judge's order. He's since spoken twice with reps who haven't offered to resolve the debt, but said they'd get back in touch before next Monday.