Terrance “T.A.” Dixon, Fat Joe’s former hype man, has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the rapper.
Filed on Thursday, the lawsuit alleges that Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Antonio Cartagena, engaged in “coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation, and psychological coercion.”
Dixon asserts that the rapper and his associates deliberately suppressed and erased his contributions to Fat Joe’s success and brand.
Filed in U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, the filing details many disturbing claims about Fat Joe’s sexual relations that it contains a trigger warning on the first page of the 157-page document. Allegedly, Fat Joe engaged in sex with minors on numerous occasions.
According to Dixon, Fat Joe forced him into “humiliating situations, including sex acts performed under duress and surveillance, accompanied by threats of abandonment in foreign countries.” Dixon believes he was coerced into “more than 4,000 sexual acts to maintain his standing within the Enterprise.”
“Defendant was in love with Minor Doe 3,” Dixon claims. “He even contemplated leaving his wife. The Defendant paid all Minor Doe 3’s bills and even took her overseas to his tour stops. He brought her to Florida and would put her up in a condo he rented a few blocks from his house with his wife,” the lawsuit asserts. “In a recorded conversation, Minor Doe 3 and her 15-year-old cousin describe in detail to Plaintiff how ‘inappropriate’ it was for Defendant, who was in his late 30s at the time, to be fawning over children.”
Notably, Dixon is represented by Tyrone Blackburn, who is also the lead counsel in the federal case against Sean “Diddy” Combs. He is seeking up to $20 million in damages.
Fat Joe’s attorney, Joe Tacopina—who has defended many high-profile clients, including Donald Trump and A$AP Rocky—responded to the lawsuit with a statement to Variety. “The lawsuit filed by Tyrone Blackburn and Terrance Dixon is a blatant act of retaliation—a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the civil suit we filed first, which exposed their coordinated scheme to extort [Fat Joe] through lies, threats, and manufactured allegations.”
“Law enforcement is aware of the extortionate demand at the heart of this scheme,” Tacopina’s statement continues. “The allegations against Mr. Cartagena are complete fabrications—lies intended to damage his reputation and force a settlement through public pressure. Mr. Cartagena will not be intimidated. We have taken legal action to expose this fraudulent campaign and hold everyone involved accountable.”
The new filing also names Pete “Pistol Pete” Torres and Richard “Rich Player” Jospitre, listed as key associates in Fat Joe’s “criminal enterprise,” with claims of violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Further, the suit names Jay-Z’s Roc Nation with allegations that the company, which represents Fat Joe, knowingly participated in “concealing, transferring, and manipulating” Dixon’s creative rights and royalty interests.
Defendants allegedly “engaged in deliberate tax fraud schemes” in an effort to conceal their extensive wage theft, artificially inflate Dixon’s tax liabilities, and more. The filing also cites a whistleblower accountant who is said to have come forward last year, as well as recorded phone calls that “helped paint the picture” of the full scope of allegations.
Source: www.digitalmusicnews.com
