Rapper Fat Joe has denied allegations he engaged in sex acts with minors after the claims were made in a lawsuit filed by his former hype man, Terrance “T.A.” Dixon.
Born Joseph Antonio Cartagena, Fat Joe has been accused by Dixon of engaging in “coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation, and psychological coercion.” Dixon is seeking up to $20 million in damages.
“Fat Joe is Sean Combs minus the Tusi,” Dixon’s attorney, Tyrone Blackburn told The Independent. “He learned nothing from his 2013 federal conviction,” Blackburn continued, referring to Fat Joe’s four months behind bars for failing to file income tax returns.
In a statement to The Independent late Thursday, Fat Joe’s lawyer Joe Tacopina called the claims “complete fabrications”.
“The lawsuit filed by Tyrone Blackburn and Terrance Dixon is a blatant act of retaliation,” Tacopina said.
He added, “The allegations against Mr. Cartagena are complete fabrications — lies intended to damage his reputation and force a settlement through public pressure. Mr. Cartagena will not be intimidated. We have taken legal action to expose this fraudulent campaign and hold everyone involved accountable.”
Filed in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York and viewed by The Independent, Dixon’s 157-page document contained a content warning, due to the graphic nature of the claims, in bold red font. Dixon served as Fat Joe’s hype man for 16 years, energizing the crowd before and during performances.
In the lawsuit, Dixon alleged Fat Joe forced him “into humiliating situations, including sex acts performed under duress and surveillance, accompanied by threats of abandonment in foreign countries if [he] refused compliance.” Dixon further alleged “he was coerced into more than 4,000 sexual acts to maintain his standing within the Enterprise.”
Dixon’s lawsuit also alleged he faced “a wide spectrum of sexual coercion, psychological control, forced exhibitionism, and surveillance-based humiliation, including being compelled to perform sex acts under observation, being filmed, or directed by [Fat Joe] in the presence of others — tactics designed to control Plaintiff’s body, erode his autonomy, and ensure silence.”
“These sex-based abuses were not private, incidental, or isolated. They were integral to the enterprise’s culture of dominance and humiliation, enforced by Defendant’s associates such as Pistol Pete, JB, and others, and sustained across numerous tour locations including Miami, North Carolina, Germany, Spain, and Wisconsin,” the complaint continued.
Dixon also alleged that he “personally witnessed [Fat Joe] engage in sexual relations with children who were 15 and 16 years old,” listing three Jane Does who “in exchange for cash, clothing, and payment of her cell phone bill … would [perform] oral sex and other sexual acts” on the rapper.
The three minors included a 16-year-old Dominican girl in New York, a non-U.S. Caucasian female, and a Latina female who “met the defendant when she was 15 years old, turning 16,” according to the documents.
“[Fat Joe] began having sexual relations with Minor Doe 2 when she was 15 years old after a concert overseas. Defendant flew Minor Doe 2 to New York City and Miami, Florida, on multiple occasions. Due to Minor Doe 2’s body being adolescent and not fully formed, Defendant paid for her to get a Brazilian Butt Lift. Minor Doe 2 eventually left Defendant and is now married to a professional athlete,” the complaint stated.
The documents further state that Fat Joe was “in love” with the third minor and claim the rapper thought about 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,” the lawsuit stated. “In a recorded conversation, Minor Doe 3 and her 15-year-old cousin describe in detail to Plaintiff how ‘inappropriate’ it was for Defendant, who was in his late 30s at the time, to be fawning over children.”
Dixon claimed that incidents occurred on Market America’s corporate yacht as well as its mansion properties, where Fat Joe “orchestrated repeated orgies involving Plaintiff, female dancers and minors.” He also alleged that the rapper used his star status to force Dixon and others into “degrading sexual performances,” often while he watched or directed.
“These incidents occurred under conditions that included the presence of corporate security staff, surveillance cameras, and Defendant’s management entourage, yet no intervention occurred, supporting the inference that these acts were facilitated by — and covered up by — the broader enterprise and its affiliates,” the complaint continued. “[Dixon] did not willingly consent to participate in these acts; instead, Plaintiff submitted solely out of fear of immediate retaliation, which Defendant repeatedly demonstrated would include financial punishment, professional sabotage, abandonment in foreign countries, or physical harm.”
In addition to Fat Joe, the lawsuit also named Pete “Pistol Pete” Torres and Richard “Rich Player” Jospitre, who were labeled as key associates the rapper’s “criminal enterprise.”
Rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation is also named, with the suit claiming the company aided in “concealing, transferring, and manipulating” Dixon’s authorship rights and royalty interests and attempted to interfere with the claims against Fat Joe, Torres and Jospitre. Roc Nation represents Fat Joe.
Dixon’s lawsuit comes months after Fat Joe sued his former hype man for social media slander. Dixon had claimed that Fat Joe flew a minor girl across state lines to engage in sex acts. Dixon’s lawyer, Tyrone Blackburn, was also named in that suit.
Fat Joe’s lawyer told The Independent the claims from Dixon and Blackburn are, “a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the civil suit we filed first, which exposed their coordinated scheme to extort Mr. Cartagena through lies, threats, and manufactured allegations.”
Tacopina added, “We didn’t just sue a disgruntled former employee trying to revive a false claim from 15 years ago — we sued the lawyer behind it all. Tyrone Blackburn has a well-documented pattern of abusing the courts to harass defendants and generate media attention. Two separate federal judges have condemned his conduct — one for filing headline-chasing lawsuits full of salacious and baseless claims, and another for making repeated legal misstatements and personal attacks in court filings.”
Tacopina said Blackburn is the subject of a pending referral to the Southern District’s disciplinary committee. “Law enforcement is aware of the extortionate demand at the heart of this scheme,” he said.
Dixon though, is prepared for the legal fight. “This is the right way to fight Joe — through the system. You can’t fight him no other way,” Dixon told Variety. “Joe think he’s a god. Joe thinks he’s untouchable.”
