R. Kelly Sues Prison Bureau For Seizing Of His Commissary Funds

BYCole Blake2.2K Views
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R. Kelly leaves the Leighton Criminal Court Building after a hearing on sexual abuse charges on May 7, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. - Kelly is charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo credit should read KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
R. Kelly is taking legal action once again.

R. Kelly is suing the United States government in an attempt to get his commissary funds back. The case stems from a March 2023 ruling, in which the Illinois Supreme Court decided Heather Williams was entitled to access the disgraced singer’s funds. “The defendant is appealing his conviction and the government’s seizure of his substantial Bureau of Prisons commissary account to satisfy the financial penalties imposed in the case," an announcement of the lawsuit caught by HipHopDX reportedly read. Assistant United States Attorney Kayla Bensing will represent the United States in the matter.

Kelly has faced countless sexual misconduct allegations over the years. In 2021, he was convicted under the Mann Act and for racketeering while a year later, he was convicted for three child pornography charges and three charges of enticing a minor. Kelly's currently serving a 31-year sentence at FCI Butner Medium I. He's due for release on December 21, 2045, at the age of 78.

R. Kelly Appears In Court In Chicago

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 17: Singer R. Kelly turns to leave after appearing at a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Kelly is facing multiple sexual assault charges. (Photo by Antonio Perez - Pool via Getty Images)

Back in January, Kelly claimed he wasn't aware that he had lost a $10.5 million lawsuit back in August of 2023. He mentioned facing a high number of cases and switching legal teams as potential reasons for the slip up. In a statement, his attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said to XXL: "We are absolutely pushing back on the $10.5 million default judgment that was entered against him without notice and without a sound legal justification. It would be simplistic and silly to write that the basis for our motion to vacate the windfall judgment relates solely to his illiteracy (although he is in fact functionally illiterate per formalized testing). The more significant problem is that there was no legal basis to enter the default judgment on the merits."

R. Kelly Wants His Commissary Funds Back

Check out some of the documents obtained by HipHopDX in the post above. Kelly's next hearing will go down on Monday. Be on the lookout for further updates on the singer on HotNewHipHop.

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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