Feds to Seize R. Kelly’s $27,000 Prison Commissary Fund After He Failed to Pay Court Fines
UPDATE (Aug. 10):
R. Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean has released the following statement to XXL in regard to her client's $27,828.24 commissary trust being seized in order to pay court fines.
"With no court order and in the absence of any notice to Mr. Kelly, the government seized Mr. Kelly’s property in his inmate trust account," the statement starts. "The government can cite no case in which it has previously seized an inmate’s trust account funds without an order of Court, without notice, and without any showing that of default on restitution or court-ordered fines. It is unprecedented and an egregious abuse of governmental power. We are asking the Court to order the immediate return of Mr. Kelly’s property and to sanction the US attorney’s office and the BOP. The more important issue raised by this situation is that Mr. Kelly continues to be a victim of the BOP’s criminality where BOP officers continue to gain unauthorized access to Mr. Kelly’s private information and share that information with members of the media."
ORIGINAL STORY (Aug. 9):
R. Kelly's five-figure prison commissary fund is being seized due to outstanding court fines.
On Aug. 4, the prosecution in R. Kelly's New York federal sex crimes case filed a motion in regard to obtaining the $27,828.24 the disgraced singer has in his prison commissary reserve in order to pay off the $140,900 he still owes to the court in fine, according to court documents obtained by XXL on Tuesday (Aug. 9).
"On June 29, 2022, the Court sentenced the Defendant to serve thirty years in custody, pay a $100,000.00 fine, a $900.00 special assessment and a $40,000.00 Justice for Trafficking Victims Act (“JTVA”) assessment," the motion reads. "The Court did not impose a payment plan, making these monetary penalties due immediately."
"To date, Defendant has not paid any portion of the fines imposed by the Court and still owes the entire $140,900.00," the motion continues. "The Government now seeks entry of an order authorizing the BOP to turn over the restrained funds for application to the Defendant’s outstanding criminal penalties."
Most of money has been seized by the Bureau of Prisons, who left R. Kelly with $500. However, Judge Ann M. Donnelly has agreed with the prosecution's stance. The same day, she ordered R. Kelly's prison trust to be turned over within 10 days and put "into an interest-bearing account pending the determination by the Court as to the amount and applicability of restitution."
R. Kelly has upcoming court hearing on Sept. 28 to determine if he will have to pay more money in restitution to the victims of his crimes.
XXL has reached out to R. Kelly's attorney for comment.
As previously reported, R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 29, after being found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking charges in New York last year. He still has open sex crimes cases in Minnesota and his home state of Chicago.