50 Cent (TigerDirect.com)
Rapper 50 Cent is no longer bankrupt, courtesy of the settlement he reached in a legal malpractice lawsuit.
The 41-year-old emcee paid off more than $22 million in debt on Thursday, Feb. 2, with federal Judge Ann Nevins approving the bankruptcy discharge in Hartford, Conn., according to the Associated Press. In July, Nevins approved a reorganization plan that gave 50 five years to repay his creditors.
His attorneys revealed the five-year plan was completed early using $13.65 million from a legal malpractice settlement he had with other lawyers in December and $8.7 million out of his own pocket.
The “9 Shots” rapper filed for bankruptcy in 2015 saying he had $36 million in debt and less than $20 million in assets. He owed $17.2 million to Sleek Audio for plagiarizing a headphone design in their SMS Audio line and around $5 million to Lastonia Leviston. The latter was a lawsuit brought on because 50 posted a sex tape of rival Rick Ross’ ex-girlfriend online with his own commentary.
When 50’s Chapter 11 filing was first announced, the public questioned him when he posted an Instagram image of stacks of cash spelling out the word “broke.” His lawyers talked down the suspicion in court and blamed it on the rapper’s branding.
“The cash depicted in the social media postings is not real,” they said. “The postings, which among other things, make use of stage or prop money, are part of the debtor’s routine social media marketing activities and relate directly to the debtor’s various business interests. Prop money is routinely used in the entertainment industry, including in movies, television shows, videos and social media postings.”
