Fat Joe‘s former hypeman has filed a lawsuit against the rapper – accusing him of “coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation, and psychological coercion.”
Terrance “T.A.” Dixon, Fat Joe’s ex-hypeman, filed the lawsuit on Thursday (June 19) at U.S. District Court Southern District of New York , according to Variety. The suit alleges over a decade of abuse and demands up to $20million in damages.
Dixon’s lawyers accuse Fat Joe, real name Joseph Cartagena, of a “deliberate and sustained campaign of exploitation”, in the RICO lawsuit. The 157-page-long document has a trigger warning at the top, before describing details of the sexual abuse and trafficking allegations.
“Fat Joe is Sean Combs minus the Tusi,” Tyrone Blackburn, Dixon’s lawyer, wrote in a statement to USA Today. Tusi is a variety of cocaine, according to the publication. Blackburn is also the lead counsel in one of the many cases against Diddy.
The lawsuit states that Dixon “personally witnessed [Cartagena] engage in sexual relations with children who were 15 and 16-years-old.”
There are three Jane Does mentioned, one of them being a 16-year-old Dominican girl in New York, who would allegedly “in exchange for cash, clothing, and payment of her cell phone bill … would [perform] oral sex and other sexual acts” on Cartagena.
Another minor, who was not a US citizen, was allegedly flown in the the country by Cartagena; “[Cartagena] began having sexual relations with Minor Doe 2 when she was 15-years-old after a concert overseas…due to Minor Doe 2’s body being adolescent and not fully formed, [the] defendant paid for her to get a Brazilian butt lift. Minor Doe 2 eventually left [the] defendant and is now married to a professional athlete.”
The third minor was a 15-year-old Latina, according to Stereogum. The lawsuit reads: “Defendant was in love with Minor Doe 3. 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.”
Dixon also claims he was forced “into humiliating situations, including sex acts performed under duress and surveillance, accompanied by threats of abandonment in foreign countries if [he] refused compliance.”
The lawsuit against Fat Joe also names Pete “Pistol Pete” Torres and Richard “Rich Player” Jospitre as defendants. They are called key associates in the rapper’s “criminal enterprise”, and claim violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act (aka civil RICO).
Other claims against Cartagena include “coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation, and psychological coercion.”
Fat Joe has hit back at the allegations, with his attorney Joe Tacopina labelling the claims as “fabricated” and retaliatory, arguing that the lawsuit is “a blatant act of retaliation” aimed at harming Joe’s reputation through public pressure.
This suit comes months after Cartagena sued Dixon for extortion and defamation. Cartagena is represented by celebrity criminal attorney Joe Tacopina, who has previously defended the likes of A$AP Rocky and Donald Trump.
Back in 2023, Fat Joe criticised the use of Young Thug’s song lyrics during his RICO trial, saying that he has lied in “95 per cent” of his songs.
Fat Joe called it “horrible” and “a travesty” that Yung Thug’s lyrics were being used in the trial: “I’ve been rapping professionally for 30 years — I’ve lied in almost 95 percent of my songs.”
“I’m being honest,” he added. “I write like I feel that day. I’m just being creative. You couldn’t build a jail high enough for the lyrics I’ve said on songs which are all untrue.”
Also, back in 2023, it was revealed that Fat Joe and 50 Cent‘s rivalry caused tension in the New York Knicks. Tim Thomas, a 50 Cent fan, clashed with Stephen Marbury, who favoured Fat Joe, causing their long friendship to dissolve.
“I knew his brothers, his mom, his pops,” said Thomas. “We actually played for Fat Joe with Terror Squad at the Rucker. It was really no issues between us at all until 50 and Fat Joe got into it. That’s when me and Steph kinda separated.”