And if anyone knows what its like to kiss big bucks bye-bye, it’s Isaiah. Star has learned that in the years before Washington, 43, hit the big time as Grey’s Dr. Preston Burke, he was on the receiving end of a number of lawsuits from creditors looking for missing money!

According to Los Angeles County Court documents:

In 1998, Beverly Hills radiology group Tower Magnetic sued Isaiah and his wife Jenisa to collect $2,083 in unpaid medical bills. After a court trial, the Washingtons were found liable for the full amount- plus $771 in miscellaneous court fees. The couple paid in full that October.

In 2003, the Ford Motor Credit Company took Washington to court to recover $8,340. The case was settled.

Washington had a role in the Steven Seagal action pic Exit Wounds, which filmed in 2000. Two years later, top talent agency ICM won a court arbiter’s ruling that Isaiah owed them $25,000 in agent’s fees. Washington paid half the amount- but ICM was forced to take him to court for the other half. In October 2003, a judge ordered Washington to pay the missing $12,500 (plus $1,108 in interest)- but records show that as of September 2004, he still hadn’t paid up!

In January 2005, the IRS filed a federal tax lien against Isaiah and Jenisa for an unpaid balance of $41,063 from their 2001 and 2002 tax returns. They paid in full five months later.