The legal battle between Fat Joe and his former hype man wages on.
According to court documents reviewed by Complex, Terrance “T.A.” Dixon has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the Bronx-born rapper, accusing him of “coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation, and psychological coercion.”
The complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, states Dixon had worked for Fat Joe, legal name Joseph Antonio Cartagena, for 16 years.
Dixon claims his role went far beyond that of a typical hype man, as he also served as a writer and background vocalist on tracks like “Congratulations,” “Ice Cream,” and “Money Over Bitches.” Dixon says he was never properly compensated for his creative contributions.
Dixon claims Fat Joe forced him “into humiliating situations,” including recorded sex acts and “threats of abandonment in foreign countries if [he] refused compliance.” According to the suit, Dixon “was coerced into more than 4,000 sexual acts to maintain his standing."
However, the most damning allegations in the complaint involve underage girls identified as Minor Does. Dixon says he witnessed Fat Joe have sexual relationships with two then-15-year-olds and a 16-year-old.
The first teen is described as a Dominican girl living in New York City who “would [perform] oral sex and other sexual acts” on Fat Joe “in exchange for cash, clothing, and payment of her cell phone bill.”
The lawsuit alleges that Fat Joe began having sex with Minor Doe 2 when she was 15 and paid for her travels as well as her Brazilian butt lift. Dixon says that girl is “now married to a professional athlete.”
The former hype man claims Fat Joe met Minor Doe 3 when she was 15 and began developing feelings for her, so much so that he “even contemplated leaving his wife.”
Additionally, Dixon says Fat Joe engaged in money laundering and tax evasion schemes. According to the suit, Fat Joe and his co-defendants artificially inflated Dixon's tax liabilities "in an effort to conceal their extensive wage theft."
Dixon was "not only exploited financially but also subjected to a wide spectrum of sexual coercion, psychological control, forced exhibitionism, and surveillance-based humiliation," the suit reads. "These sex-based abuses were not private, incidental, or isolated. They were integral to the Enterprise's culture of dominance and humiliation, enforced by the Defendant's associates."
Fat Joe's co-defendants include Roc Nation, LLC; Peter “Pistol Pete” Torres; Richard “Rich Player” Jospitre; and Erica Juliana Moreira.
The lawsuit was filed just several months after Fat Joe sued Dixon for extortion and defamation. The rapper claimed that on March 23, he received a letter from Dixon and an attorney demanding compensation for singing and ghostwriting services.
Several weeks later, Dixon allegedly threatened to file a complaint that included sex trafficking, statutory rape, fraud, and forced labor accusations, all of which Fat Joe has denied.
This story is being updated.