R. Kelly is behind bars, but his hits are still bringing in the bag. According to AllHipHop, revenue from his catalog paid off a federal judgment of over $500,000.
Court docs from the Eastern District of New York highlight a payment of $520,549.90 that covered restitution, fines, and penalties. The payment was broken down into $379,649.90 in restitution, a $100,000 fine, and a $40,000 Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act assessment. There was also a $900 special assessment.
In October, R. Kelly attempted to take his sex crimes convictions to the highest court possible. They responded with a “no, thank you.”
R. Kelly is currently serving 30 years in prison for sex trafficking, concurrent with 20 years for child pornography, and he petitioned the Supreme Court stating he was retroactively prosecuted. According to CNN, federal prosecutors declined to respond to the appeal.
R. Kelly’s case was just one of hundreds denied by the Court.
In August 2024, R. Kelly’s legal battle began when he claimed that prison employees used the internal prison system to access his sensitive information unlawfully. According to Kelly, this information was then sold to Tasha K, who shared it on her popular blog. Kelly’s lawyer argued that Tasha K leveraged this information to harass him and influence witnesses in his ongoing legal battles, particularly his criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY).
However, the U.S. Government has now fired back, requesting that the case be dismissed. In documents obtained exclusively by In Touch, government lawyers denied breaching their duty of care to Kelly, arguing that the United States cannot be held liable for the alleged actions of individual prison employees. They stated, “The United States is not subject to institutional liability stemming from allegedly widespread negligent practices or policies.”
While the government acknowledged that an Inspector General investigation was conducted into the unauthorized access to Kelly’s emails, visitor logs, and phone records, they pointed out that no charges were ever brought against the officer named in Kelly’s complaint. In fact, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the employee in question had retired shortly after the investigation commenced in 2019.
Interestingly, the government’s response appears to indirectly confirm that a prison worker did, in fact, provide information to Tasha K that was accessed from the internal system. Despite this, the government maintains that this does not constitute grounds for holding the entire U.S. Penal System accountable.
Tasha K, for her part, has vehemently denied any involvement in illegal activity, taking to Instagram to refute Kelly’s allegations. Nonetheless, Kelly’s legal team contends that the leaked information caused chaos in his personal life and compromised his defense in the criminal case against him.
As the U.S. Government pushes for the lawsuit to be thrown out, Kelly’s legal challenges continue to mount. With his reputation and freedom on the line, this latest development in the R. Kelly saga underscores the intense scrutiny and controversy surrounding the disgraced singer inside and outside the courtroom. The court’s decision on dismissing the case will be closely watched, as it could set a significant precedent for handling sensitive information within the U.S. prison system.
The U.S. Government has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by R&B singer R. Kelly, who is currently serving time on multiple charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking. The lawsuit, which was filed last year, accuses the U.S. Penal System and gossip vlogger Tasha K of violating his privacy by allegedly accessing and publishing his private prison emails and call logs.
The post Revenue from R. Kelly’s Catalog Pays off $500K Federal Judgment appeared first on The Source Magazine.
