Roc Nation wants out of an explosive new lawsuit accusing Fat Joe of victimizing his longtime hypeman via a wide-ranging criminal enterprise, saying it’s “nonsensical” to suggest the rapper’s management company was involved in any of the scandalous behavior alleged in the case.
Jay-Z’s entertainment company was among a slew of people and companies named last week in Terrance “T.A.” Dixon’s lawsuit against Fat Joe (Joseph Cartagena). Dixon, Fat Joe’s hypeman for over a decade, said he was forced to work without pay while being subjected to psychological manipulation and exposed to sexual misconduct, including the trafficking of underage girls.
The claims in Dixon’s Thursday (June 19) complaint, which Fat Joe has fiercely denied and characterized as extortion, are framed as a racketeering enterprise abetted by Roc Nation and other outside entities. But Roc Nation’s attorneys quickly filed a motion to dismiss on Monday (June 23), saying the company “has nothing to do with any of this.”
“Roc Nation’s alleged role in this case — according to plaintiff himself — is that it became Mr. Cartagena’s artist management company in 2017, and in that capacity, earned a commission on revenue Mr. Cartagena generated,” writes Roc Nation’s lawyer Alex Spiro. “Yet, according to plaintiff, the fact that Roc Nation had a business relationship with Mr. Cartagena somehow makes Roc Nation part of a RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] enterprise, a participant in sex trafficking, and an aider-and-abettor of Mr. Cartagena’s alleged conduct. That is nonsensical.”
According to Monday’s motion, there’s not a single factual allegation in the complaint that ties Roc Nation to any of Fat Joe’s alleged wrongdoing. Dixon’s lawsuit claimed the management company was responsible for his withheld wages, but Spiro says Roc Nation only manages Fat Joe’s catalog, publishing rights and intellectual property.
“How Roc Nation supposedly knew of this deplorable alleged conduct is a mystery,” writes Spiro. “He does not assert how Roc Nation’s management of Mr. Cartagena’s music business gave it insight into how much plaintiff should have been paid, what he was paid, or any venture to deprive him of adequate compensation.”
Reached for comment on Monday, Dixon’s attorney Tyrone Blackburn tells Billboard he will oppose Roc Nation’s motion to be dismissed from the case.
“I am happy to see that Roc Nation was smart enough to distance itself from Fat Joe and his RICO enterprise,” adds Blackburn. “The plaintiff has no personal animosity towards Roc Nation or its leadership.”
Dixon’s case against Fat Joe was actually preceded by the rapper suing Dixon and Blackburn for extortion. Two months ago, Fat Joe filed a lawsuit accusing the former hypeman and his attorney of trying to extract a settlement with “wholly fabricated” and “grotesque” claims of pedophilia.
In a statement after Dixon filed his own lawsuit last week, Fat Joe’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said they’ll continue to fight the claims and that “law enforcement is aware of the extortionate demand at the heart of this scheme.”
