Casey Anthony is a step closer to a financial clean slate after her bankruptcy attorneys reached a settlement with Texas EquuSearch, the search-and-recovery group that scoured Central Florida for her daughter in 2008.
EquuSearch was one of three Anthony creditors who filed complaints objecting to her Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which is being heard in federal court in Tampa.
The group says it spent more than $100,000 searching for 2-year-old Caylee, who Anthony already knew was dead.
In a settlement filed Friday, EquuSearch agreed to drop its complaint. Anthony agreed to allow EquuSearch to claim $75,000 as a creditor.
However, it appears unlikely that EquuSearch will get much, if any, of that money. EquuSearch attorney Marc Wites acknowledged Monday that Chapter 7 creditors "usually receive very little money, if anything."
The group may get a portion of whatever Anthony's bankruptcy trustee can find in her estate, but the rest of the $75,000 debt is now set to be wiped away when her bankruptcy concludes.
Anthony's January bankruptcy filing lists more than $792,000 in debt and less than $1,100 in assets. The settlement with EquuSearch does not require Anthony to admit liability.
In a news release, EquuSearch said the decision to settle came "after considerable thought."
"While many have debated whether Casey Anthony will ever financially profit from Caylee's death, one thing is certain: The time and money that (EquuSearch) must spend to pursue these claims are being taken from other families that really need their help," said EquuSearch law firms Wites & Kapetan and Meland Russin & Budwick.
Two other Anthony creditors, Zenaida Gonzalez and Roy Kronk, have complaints pending against her. A judge is scheduled to hear motions to dismiss those complaints next month.
Anthony was found not guilty of murder in her daughter's death in a 2011 trial. She has been living in hiding ever since.