Last week we heard that 50 Cent, who filed for bankruptcy last July, was using the unique and bullsh*t sounding legal strategy of comparing the court’s repayment plan to slavery and claiming that it violated the 13th amendment. 50 owes millions after losing civil suits against Lastonia Leviston, a woman whose sex tape he published in order to get back at her ex, Rick Ross, and his ex business partner, who accused him of stealing the design for his SMS by 50 headphones.
50 has a long history of posting photos of himself with stacks of cash on social media. He’s been doing it for years and he’s continued to do it following his bankruptcy. In fact his recent pics have had kind of a mocking tone. So Leviston and other creditors alerted the judge to 50’s many Instagram posts featuring tens to hundreds of thousands in cash. He’s also been posting photos of gigs for which he hasn’t disclosed his income to the court, and bragging of homes which he hasn’t listed as assets either. The judge ordered 50 to appear and offer an explanation:
A bankruptcy judge ordered rapper 50 Cent to come to her courtroom and explain several pictures posted on social media websites that show him playing with stacks of cash.
Judge Ann Nevins told the 40-year-old entertainer’s lawyer that his Instagram photos are raising questions about whether he is being truthful about his financial situation.
“I’m concerned about allegations of nondisclosure and a lack of transparency in the case,” Judge Nevins said at a hearing Thursday in Hartford, Conn., on Thursday. “There’s a purpose of having a bankruptcy process be transparent, and part of that purpose is to inspire confidence in the process.” She added that bankruptcy is a place where “honest, but unfortunate” people can get a fresh start.
Earlier court papers put a spotlight on three pictures of 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, with bundles of cash. One picture showed cash piles in his fridge.
And another showed him cuddling with them in bed. He also bragged on Instagram about buying a home in Africa.
The photos were flagged by Lastonia Leviston, who won $7 million in a sex-tape dispute but hasn’t been able to collect that money since Mr. Jackson filed for bankruptcy last summer. Two other groups—Mr. Jackson’s mortgage lender and a partner in a failed headphone deal owed roughly $18 million—joined her in a fight to have an outside financial professional manage his money until he pay off the $30 million he owes creditors.
Mr. Jackson’s lawyer wasn’t immediately available to respond to Judge Nevins’s order. The date of the hearing Mr. Jackson is required to attend hasn’t yet been set.
In response to the social media posts, Mr. Jackson’s lawyers said the photos were included in court filings to “disingenuously smear” him.
“By including pictures from [Mr. Jackson’s] social media accounts and implying that [he] is hiding assets…the [three creditors] intentionally ignore that [Mr. Jackson] is in the entertainment and promotion business and must maintain his brand and image (or those of the products he is promoting),” his lawyers said in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford, Conn.
A lawyer for headphone investor group said Thursday he was still suspicious of Mr. Jackson’s financial reporting, which calls for him to disclose all of the money he earned during the case. He said that Mr. Jackson has made TV appearances and performed at concerts but didn’t say how much he was paid in fees.
Mr. Jackson’s lawyer, James Berman, disputed that at Thursday’s hearing.
“All his income was reported,” he told Judge Nevins.
[Wall St. Journal via NY Daily News]
Also on 50’s Instagram are pictures of his Porsche, Ferrari, motorcycle, various huge gold chains and medallions and literal buckets of cash. (Plus he’s still fighting with Meek Mill and various other people.) I’m always baffled by these bankruptcy cases in which people are allowed to keep massive assets without selling them off to settle debts. This isn’t just stupidity this is arrogance to a massive degree. Plus it makes him seem like he’s dealing in cash in order to bilk his creditors and the IRS.
This is from before he filed for bankruptcy, but that’s a couple million in cash, right? Is it Photoshopped to look like more? I hope so.
This is from almost two years ago but holy sh*t how much cash is that? Is all the interior cash fake?
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