“I’ma spend his cream, seduce, and scheme.”
If you’re not familiar with those lyrics, get hip as they are the catchy words to the single from the fictional characters “Shawna” and “Mia” from Issa Rae’s “RAP SH!T.” And it looks as if New York rapper Fat Joe is on the opposite side of those lyrics in real life.
According to a report from Billboard, the “Lean Back” rapper is suing his accountants after claiming they stole millions of dollars in a “fraudulent scheme.”
In a pending legal battle, Fat Joe — whose real name is Joseph Cartagena — accuses his accountants of misappropriating funds using his and his wife’s name.
Fat Joe’s assistant Vanessa Rodriguez was fired by his longtime CPA, Andre Chammas. After her termination, the rapper alleges that he noticed several irregularities in how BDO USA, Chamma’s firm, began handling his business accounts.
However, the lawsuit claims the two were in it together.
“The bottom line is that, by executing and reaping the benefits of their money-making scheme, BDO and Chammas have committed malpractice and professional negligence, breached the fiduciary duties they owe to Plaintiffs, misappropriated millions of dollars, defrauded Plaintiffs, and been unjustly enriched,” Fat Joe’s lawyers wrote in the court documents.
The actions in question include unpaid bills, unrelated credit card payments, and revenue never deposited into Fat Joe’s account.
Once the 52-year-old began to notice, he claims that the accounting firm ignored his inquiries and created falsities to cover up its actions.
To make matters worse, Fat Joe’s former assistant allegedly obtained a credit card to take out cash advances and pay her child’s school tuition, adding identity theft to the long list of the alleged activity.
“Rather than cooperate with a longtime client and offer to lend assistance, BDO and Chammas have employed a different strategy: stonewall and delay,” Fat Joe’s lawyers wrote. “Now Plaintiffs know why BDO and Chammas have been trying to obstruct their investigation: Plaintiffs are the target of a fraudulent scheme that BDO and Chammas—with Rodriguez’s assistance—have been orchestrating for years and that has resulted in millions of dollars in damages.”