Observers found something interesting in regards to the legal defeat and sentencing of R. Kelly. It’s all in the money: the thousands on R. Kelly’s prison books—and how it all evaporated.
Kelly Had $27K in His Prison Commissary Account and the Government Seized It All
Yes, “evaporated” is another word for “government seizure”. While that isn’t surprising given the allegations and legal fees, apparently, the government snatched his prison cash when it wasn’t supposed to.
In American prisons, inmates are given a commissary account. This account allows them to make purchases from the prison’s store—commissary—such as snacks, cigarettes, hygienic products, or just things for prison life. What is for sale differs from prison to prison. What is purchased is typically tradable in the inmates’ economy.
Kelly had about $27,000 in his account. However, the government started taxing him and now the Pied Piper wants his $27,000 back. He owes roughly $140,000 as part of his sentencing and made no steps toward paying it back.
The singer also didn’t have a payment plan in place, so the government just started pulling what they were owed. In the end, he was left with $500—far from a money cheat. His lawyer—Jennifer Bonjean—filed a motion to have the funds returned:
“The judgment in this case was entered little more than a month ago and specified that only $900 was due immediately. Without any evidence that Mr. Kelly has defaulted on payment of a fine that was only entered 35 days ago, the government was not permitted to seize Mr. Kelly’s trust funds.”
The “Ignition” singer was sentenced to 30 years in New York for sex trafficking and racketeering. He’s now in Chicago to deal with new allegations around his 2002 case. Also, in September 2022 there will be a trial about restitution after it was revealed that R. Kelly sold off the rights to his music for $5 million.
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