One of Wu-Tang Clan’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s children is speaking out about not receiving a dime of her father’s money since his death.
Ashana Jones was just seven years old when her father, Russell Jones, passed at 35 away from an accidental drug overdose. She remembers him as “an awesome father,” but he didn’t leave behind a will. Now, Jones is ready to fight for what’s hers.
In 2020, Krishana Rucker, Ashana’s mother, received a settlement for outstanding child support totaling $500,000. Payments were completed in February, and once she signs off on the case as closed, it paves the way for Ashana to take up her case.
“Now I need to sign off that the case is closed,” she told the New York Post. “Then I will give my lawyer a retainer and commission him to get my daughter her inheritance from Russell’s estate.”
According to Ashana, neither she nor her half-siblings have seen a dime from her father’s estate. Despite claims that ODB had as many as 13 children, according to The Post, there are seven recognized children.
“I don’t know what is owed,” Ashana said. “But I just want what is owed. That sum can be sizable, and right now, I have received zero.”
When ODB died in 2004, he did not have a will in place, and his wife, Icelene Jones, was appointed as administrator of his estate. New York State decided that she would receive half of the money in his estate, and his heirs would be entitled to the other half. Icelene initially denied that he had kids other than the three the two shared.
According to Rucker, Icelene allegedly “tried to cut off the four kids who weren’t hers from any inheritance by maintaining they were not Russell’s children.”
“She went so far as to file a frivolous lawsuit in the state of California against my daughter and I claiming that we lied about Russell being her father,” Rucker told The Post. “She ultimately withdrew the suit. But is that the lowest thing you can do?”
Icelene’s attorney, Greg Watts, says that no heirs have been paid due to Rucker’s ongoing child-support claim. When asked by the outlet how much the estate was worth, the attorney claims it “is fluid.” According to Watts, debts, and liabilities have to be accounted for.
“Ashana and those who have been identified as heirs are distributees of the estate,” he said. “There was no money in the estate when it was first formed. Russell Jones died, and there was nothing. “Watts said that “his wife and other marketing executives were able to market his image and music [and] generate money for the estate.”
He claims the heirs can expect payment from time to time.
