Federal prosecutors want a judge to freeze nearly $1 million of Michael Vick’s assets to guarantee the fallen NFL star will pay for the care of the pit bulls he used in his dogfighting enterprise.

The U.S. Attorney’s office cited Vick’s “deteriorating financial condition” in a motion filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, which asks Judge Henry Hudson to issue a restraining order forcing Vick to set aside $928,000. In an August plea agreement, Vick promised to fully fund the costs of caring and finding homes for the 54 dogs.

Billy Martin, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback’s top attorney, did not return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday afternoon.

In their request to Hudson, prosecutors pointed to an arbitrator’s ruling that Vick should repay almost $20 million to the Falcons, a $2.5 million lawsuit filed by the Royal Bank of Canada saying Vick defaulted on a line of credit and a lawsuit filed by First Source Bank of South Bend, Ind., that seeks to force Vick to repay at least $2 million in loans he received to start a rental car business.

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Those suits, the U.S. Attorney’s office said, show Vick has ignored demands that he meet his financial obligations. The motion also noted that Vick has put his Atlanta home up for sale with a $4.5 million asking price. In May, Vick sold the Virginia property where the dogfighting operation was based for $350,000, well below its $747,000 assessed value.

“The current events outlined above regarding Vick’s deteriorating financial condition demonstrate the validity of the government’s concern about the defendant’s ability to fulfill his legal obligation by the time he is sentenced on December 10, 2007,” prosecutors wrote in their filing.

Vick faces as many as five years in jail when Hudson sentences him on one count of conspiracy related to the dogfighting operation on his Surry County property. He turned himself in to federal marshals Monday to get a head start on serving his sentence.

Vick also is facing state dogfighting charges that each carry a maximum five-year jail term. South Carolina authorities also are investigating whether Vick and his co-defendants brought dogs into that state to participate in illegal fights.

jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com