News

T.I. Settles Charges With SEC Over Fraudulent Cryptocurrency

Rapper, actor, producer, club owner, investor. T.I. has long been a proponent of diversifying his streams of income and is known as a keen entrepreneur that is always quick to impart financial wisdom and advice on his followers.

However, it’s that same eagerness that recently landed the Atlanta rapper in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was charged by the SEC as part of Atlanta-based movie producer Ryan Felton’s fraud scheme. The charges allege that Felton “misappropriated funds” and “engaged in manipulative trading” to inflate the price of the Spark tokens he was offering.

Felton first recruited Tip to promote FLiK, who then “falsely claim[ed] to be a FliK co-owner and encourag[ed] his followers to invest in the FLiK ICO,” according to an SEC press release.

An ICO, or initial coin offering, refers to an Internet-based method of crowdfunding for new cryptocurrencies.

Lars Niki/Getty Images for BET

Tip, along with his social media manager, William Sparks, were charged with promoting fraudulent ICOs that were not registered with the SEC. The two have since settled their civil charges with the SEC, paying a $75,000 fine and agreeing to refrain from marketing or selling securities for a minimum of five years.

In a statement given to HipHopDX, a representative for T.I. asserted that the rapper “regrets his involvement with Mr. Felton.” The SEC’s claim alleges that Felton used the misappropriated funds he embezzled and “the proceeds of his manipulative trading to buy a Ferrari, a million-dollar home, diamond jewelry, and other luxury goods.”

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Celebrity

Lil Durk Co Defendants OTF Dede and David Lindsey Seek Acquittal and New Trial

OTF Dede and David Lindsey are fighting their recent stalking convictions as the legal process in Lil Durk’s case continues to play out.

Lil Durk was facing five charges, two of them murder-for-hire related and three of them stalking related, while the two co-defendants were convicted on three counts of stalking in the same case. Durk was just cleared of all charges in that case a couple of weeks ago, but Dede and Lindsey didn’t get the same result.

The latest legal twist adds another chapter to a case that has remained tightly connected to Lil Durk’s ongoing legal troubles. Durk was acquitted in the initial murder-for-hire case, but his larger legal battle is far from over.

For Dede and Lindsey, the immediate issue is their stalking convictions and whether the court will grant either of the new requests filed. The couple’s pleas carry long prison sentences, and the pending motions are especially important for their attorneys.
The court has not ruled on the Rule 29 and Rule 33 motions, leaving the next phase of litigation uncertain.

Lil Durk, meanwhile, is set to appear in court on November 4 for a bond hearing. His trial in the VICAR case was scheduled for the next few weeks, but it is likely to be delayed.

Separate legal proceedings are now moving forward in the cases of Durk, Dede, and Lindsey, who remain active. Dede and Lindsey’s latest filings ensure that the group’s legal saga continues even after Durk’s acquittal in the original case.

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Celebrity

Meek Mill steps back from his ongoing feud with DJ Akademiks,

Meek Mill and DJ Akademiks’ ongoing social media beef has taken another turn, with Meek seemingly getting the last word.

The two have been feuding for around a decade, and their tensions have become closely tied to the fallout from Meek’s beef with Drake. Following Akademiks taking Drake’s side in the public feud, Meek clearly didn’t want to be featured on Akademiks’ page. Since then, they have exchanged occasional messages and renewed disagreements.

The latest chapter heated up around the Lil Durk trial. Meek Mill called out Akademiks for his coverage and commentary on the case, saying he had become a bad influence on the culture.

Akademiks fired back hard, and the beef snowballed into a back and forth of threats between the two. At one point, Meek asked for Akademiks’ address, while Akademiks showed off an arsenal of machine guns and rifles. The confrontation had been really serious before apparently cooling off in recent days.

The message is the latest chapter in a long-running feud that has flared up several times over the past decade. This latest back-and-forth could be Meek’s attempt to close the door on the feud, but given the history between the two, tensions can flare up fast.
So far, it looks like Meek is putting a line under his part of the conversation. Only time will tell whether Akademiks responds.

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