Troubles for disgraced singer R. Kelly are far from over. The “If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time” singer has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars for many charges in New York. But before beginning his incarceration stint, R. Kelly immediately hauled off to Illinois in anticipation of his upcoming trial. R. Kelly is currently facing multiple charges for producing videos involving underage girls. The trial is set to begin on August 15, reports The New York Times.
However, in light of R. Kelly’s upcoming trial, details show he’s in more hot water. According to legal documents obtained by XXL, the singer failed to pay the fines the court imposed on him along with his sentence. Due to this, the Bureau of Prisons has seized an amount of almost $28,000 located in Kelly’s prison commissary fund. According to reports, the disgraced singer and his legal team never set up payment arrangements causing the penalties to be due immediately. Despite owning more than he had available, R. Kelly was left with $500 following the seizure. R. Kelly’s defense called the process an “unprecedented and an egregious abuse of governmental power.” In addition, his attorney claims that “no court order” was in place and that they were unaware of what was to come. For this reason, his legal team is asking for those involved to be “sanctioned” along with an “immediate return of Mr. Kelly’s property.”
There was a point within R. Kelly’s career when he could blink those fines away with his financial status. However, due to the mountainous legal troubles that the Grammy Award-winning singer has been facing for years, his finances have undoubtedly taken a hit. According to the letter written by R. Kelly’s legal team obtained by RadarOnline, the singer’s health is in poor shape. They claim that Kelly also suffered from years of “financial abuse” from some members of his team and despite being worth $900 million at one point, he’s destitute.
News of R. Kelly’s crimes halted many fans from supporting his music. However, some remained loyal to the very end. When news reports claimed he could not take care of his fines, including bail, many of those fans tried to supply those funds for him. Multiple GoFundMe accounts began to arise in the hopes that money would be raised for R. Kelly. However, according to Market Watch, they were quickly removed from the site due to a violation of their terms and services.
R. Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, took to Twitter to share that more of the singer’s funds have been seized. According to Bonjean, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York “filed a motion to confiscate his trust money.” In addition, she provided an email where she asked for a formal complaint to be filed due to a “BOP officer that unlawfully accessed private information from Mr. Kelly.” Upon tweeting this information, a loyal fan of R. Kelly reacted angrily. Furthermore, they claimed to also have sent the singer money to cover his expenses.
Aww,I Knew it😯! I Juss sent Theman some money.smh I Can’t Believe TheseDemons! (ventin)My God, Why Are They Doin this man Like This?They treating R.Kelly like Hes a Killer..This proves to me the Judge, WITNESSES, Jury,PA were ALL bought, Rigged To Take RKelly down for SonyMusic
— Alissia X Slave (@ReparationsX) August 6, 2022
UPDATE:September 11, 2022 According to Rollingstone, R. Kelly’s legal team has been unsuccessful at having the funds returned to his account. A judge has ruled that $27,000 be seized from the troubled singer’s commissary account and utilized to pay off his fines and restitution. According to the artile, R. Kelly currently owes close to $140,000 in fines.
