By Carlos Boogs
Rapper turned boxing promoter Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson is in hot water. Bankruptcy judge Ann Nevins ordered him to come to her courtroom and explain several pictures posted on social media websites that show him playing with stacks of cash.
She wants to know whether he is being truthful about his financial situation.
“I’m concerned about allegations of nondisclosure and a lack of transparency in the case,” Judge Nevins said at a hearing in Hartford, Conn. “There’s a purpose of having a bankruptcy process be transparent, and part of that purpose is to inspire confidence in the process.” She added that bankruptcy is a place where “honest, but unfortunate” people can get a fresh start.
Jackson filed for bankruptcy last year after losing a lawsuit where he now owes Lastonia Leviston $7 million in a sex-tape dispute. Jackson’s mortgage lender and a partner in a failed headphone deal claims to be owed $18 million. Jackson's debts mount to a whopping $30 million.
The date of the hearing has yet to be set.
Several fighters who are contractually tied to Jackson's SMS Promotions, like Yuriorkis Gamboa, Ryan Martin, James Kirkland and others - are trying to break away from the rapper, who claims his financial troubles are affecting his ability to get fights for his stable of boxers.
Former featherweight champion Billy Dib claims Jackson owes him "seven figures" from past purses, but he's been unable to collect because of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
In response to the allegations being made by his creditors who claim Jackson is avoiding his debts and hiding money, his lawyers stated the following:
“By including pictures from [Mr. Jackson’s] social media accounts and implying that [he] is hiding assets…the [creditors] intentionally ignore that [Mr. Jackson] is in the entertainment and promotion business and must maintain his brand and image (or those of the products he is promoting),” his lawyers said in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford, Conn.
