Russell Simmons owes three million to three women, including one who accused him of sexual assault, after failing to pay them according to previously agreed-upon settlements.
Variety reports that, according to court records, three confessions of judgment were filed in New York County Supreme Court on Wednesday for Wendy Carolina Franco, Sherri Abernathy, and Sil Lai Abrams.
These documents, which were a part of confidential settlement agreements between the rapper and media mogul, were filed last November. In them, he agreed to compensate each woman for “alleged personal, physical injuries, and sickness” by Oct. 1 — Franco would get $515,000, and Abrams and Abernathy would both each get $1,265,000. So far, he has yet to pay.
The documents allow the women to begin the collections process in New York state court if there’s a default.
Though the court documents don’t include a reason why these settlements were made, Abrams previously alleged that Simmons raped her in 1994.
She’s not the only one. More than 20 women have accused Simmons of sexual assault over the last twenty years. Although he relocated to Bali in a move that many thought was ducking the U.S. police, he recently claimed that he’s not hiding. “I’ll be in New York next week,” he said in a recent video. “This idea that I’m hiding is stupid.”
In that same video, Simmons addressed the people that were angry that his famous friends like Taraji P. Henson and Usher were coming to visit him in Bali regardless of the allegations against him.
“I love you, I just don’t want my friends attacked and I wish you all the best,” he said. “But just leave my friends alone. Don’t attack my friends for visiting me.”
The media mogul also addressed the allegations against him. “Still today, I have never spoken to a policeman about anything,” he explained. “I have never spoken to a judge, civil or criminal, about anything. From what I can tell Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and President Trump all have more credible claims against them than I do.”
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