SOCIALITE Jocelyn Wildenstein was facing arrest in Miami after reportedly ignoring court orders over unpaid debts before she died.
The 84-year-old, nicknamed Catwoman after extreme plastic surgeries, passed away in Paris on Tuesday after suffering a pulmonary embolism.
She was found “unresponsive” by her long time partner and fiance Lloyd Klein.
DailyMail.com has now reported the eccentric billionaire was about to be hauled into custody after failing to appear in court.
She was due to attend a hearing on October 23 in Miami over an unpaid $334,000 debt.
Judge Migna Sanchez-Llorens issued a writ of bodily attachment and sent officers to take Wildenstein into custody until she could go to court.
The socialite had been staying in Paris and it was not known whether she would go back to the States – where she was facing eviction from her home in Miami Beach.
Court records alleged her debts are regarding $268,000 owed to Regal Jewelry and Gift Shop plus $75,928 in interest.
The case dates back to her 2018 bankruptcy case, where Wildenstein, again, left the fees unpaid.
The company decided to take further legal action in Miami and when she failed to comply with court orders, it was asked if she could be held in contempt.
Judge Sanchez-Llorens wrote on November 4: “Defendant may be confined in the Miami-Dade County Jail until the earliest possible time that she can be brought before the Court.
“However, Defendant may be released upon the posting of a bond in the amount of $1,000.00.”
DailyMail.com reported a follow up meeting was set for January 14.
If officers had arrested Wildenstein into custody, it would have been her second time in cuffs.
She previously had a run in with the law after attacking her fiance Klein.
The couple, who met in 2003 and became engaged in 2017, made amends and resolved their issues, leading to the case being dropped.
Wildenstein received a $2.5billion divorce settlement from her first marriage with Alec Wildenstein in 1999.
She was known for splashing millions, but her last bankruptcy filing showed she had actually been surviving on $900 a month in benefits.
The mum-of-two saw her $6.8million apartment in Trump World Tower sold off to help with her debts.
Her latest financial woes were revealed when she was booted from her Miami Beach property, leased by partner Klein, after owning $12,000 in unpaid rent.
But Klein claimed there were “significant” issues with the two-bedroom apartment and the couple should “not be obligated” to pay.
However, a judge ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to support this and issued an eviction notice.
It appears Wildenstein went to Paris after further trouble with another property in Miami Beach – which saw her failing to make payments again.
The last photos of the socialite appear to have been taken in Paris from two weeks ago, with Klein, enjoying a night out together.
The pair stepped out together at The Ritz for a glamorous meal.
Klein could be seen holding a small white shopping bag from designer brand Guerlain.
Wildenstein shot to fame due to having extensive cosmetic surgery on her face, believed to have spent millions on facelifts, giving her high cheek bones and ‘cat-eyes’ that give her a feline resemblance.
However, she has previously denied ever having plastic surgery, or having a surgery addiction, but had vowed she wouldn’t stop going under the knife.
In 2023, she posted a photo of herself as a teenager as “proof” she always had high features, accusing people of photoshopping her to look worse.
Wildenstein and Klein had been together since 2003, four years after her messy divorce from Alec Wildenstein, a French billionaire businessman and art dealer who she married in a Las Vegas elopement in 1978.
The pair were together for 21 years before their marriage came to an abrupt end when she caught him sleeping with a model in their New York home.
He later threatened her with a gun during the altercation and spent a night in jail as a result.
In the aftermath, Wildenstein set a record for divorce settlements in the US, becoming one of America’s most wealthiest woman.
She reportedly secured a £2billion divorce payment and £80million a year in maintenance – at one point owning three apartments in Trump Tower.
Wildenstein has previously claimed to Vanity Fair that her high cheekbones and feline like features were actually due to genetics from her Swiss grandmother, though acknowledged having a facelift to appear younger for her then-husband.
But in the same Vanity Fair interview, done in 1998, ex-husband Alec claimed she was “rearranging her face like a piece of furniture”.
She met Klein in 2003 at New York Fashion week, and they got engaged in 2017.
The fashion designer proposed with a 32 carat ring which he said was worth “millions” and required security guards when she was not wearing it.
