Singer/songwriter Ne-Yo -- who began his career way back in 1998 -- should know by now how to play the money game. With his latest hot water situation with the Internal Revenue Service, that does not seem to be the case. The rapper owes over $3 million in back taxes to the IRS, according to RadarOnline-obtained documents. The actual number is $3,166,811.68 and this debt is for the year 2020. Seems like COVID-19 discombobulated Ne-Yo.
Born Shaffer Chimere Smith, he and his ex-wife, Crystal Renay, are no strangers when it comes to owing money and not paying on time. Crowe Custom Countertops did work on a property the former couple owns in Alpharetta, GA. Ne-Yo did not pay them for their work, and the company issued a lien to him and Renay. The duo also had a lien of $4,000.00 for taxes owed to the City of Atlanta. As for the divorce settlement between the two, Ne-Yo had to pay Renay $1.6 million, gave her one of their four Georgia properties, covered $20k in moving expenses, and bought her a car in the $150k range.
Ne-Yo's Continued Financial Woes
Unfortunately, Ne-Yo is used to forking over large sums of money. He and Crystal Renay have three kids together. From the divorce, that means $12k in monthly child support, as well as school expenses. Plus, he pays her $5k in alimony for the next three years. Overall, this was an expensive relationship, but not the only one for the R&B artist. He made his ex-girlfriend, Sade Bagnerise, do a paternity test for one of their alleged children. He's also looking for child support after the DNA test. (Ne-Yo is the biological father of their first child, but he's unsure about their second child.)
This begs the question: Does Ne-Yo make music anymore, or is he spending all of his time in the courtroom? Allegedly, he's "down to date fans," but who would race towards this many red flags should be tested for mental health purposes. Lately, he appeared on the British version of The Masked Singer as Badger and finished runner-up to Joss Stone. Motown Records released his latest album, 2022's Self Explanatory.
Read more: Ne-Yo Says He’s Too “Toxic” For Taylor Swift
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