Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are taking steps to garnish R. Kelly’s music royalty payments and hand the funds over to two of his victims.
Prosecutors filed two writs of garnishment on Thursday — targeting the R&B singer, as well as Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Publishing, according to court documents obtained by Insider.
The entertainment companies served as the Grammy-winning artist’s label and publisher until they quietly dropped him in 2019, amid sexual abuse allegations.
The court documents reveal Kelly has not fulfilled his debt of $520,549.90. As a result, prosecutors are seeking to intercept his royalty payments, which could help compensate the victims affected by his sex trafficking and racketeering scheme.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York told Insider they’ve already collected $27,828.24 from garnishing Kelly’s inmate trust account, but he “currently owes $504,289.73, including interest.”
Related Story: R. Kelly Moved From Chicago Facility to Federal Prison in North Carolina
In February of this year, a federal judge in Chicago sentenced Kelly to 20 years in federal prison for child pornography and enticement of minors.
The sentencing came in addition to the singer’s previous 30-year sentence on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges in Brooklyn, New York.
But it was ruled that the “Ignition” singer can serve all but one year of this latest sentence simultaneously with his 30-year term.
For years, Kelly was followed by accusations of sexual misconduct and child molestation, even as he climbed the music charts.
His hit “I Believe I Can Fly” won him three Grammys in 1998. Among his other mega-hits were “Bump n’ Grind,” “Trapped In The Closet,” “I Wish,” “Step In The Name of Love,” “Fiesta” and “When a Woman’s Fed Up.”
