It looks like Kanye West’s former friend and G.O.O.D. music associate Malik Yusef is back at it again with the fraud and is now being sued for allegedly forging Kanye’s signature and pocketing the proceeds.
Korean-based fashion brand ‘Gentle Monster’ claims Yusef scammed them out of $2.5 million after promising Kanye would create a promo video for their company. They say Yusef even arranged a meeting between Kanye and a rep for the brand to make it seem like the rapper was on board with the plan.
Kanye apparently was unaware of the whole operation.
According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Yusef promised the participation of other celebrities such as Pharrell, Jaden Smith, and others, claiming they would also be down with promoting the GM brand. The company says Yusef’s scam was elaborate, spanning over 9 months and included forged signatures from Kanye as well as fake invoices made to appear like they were from legitimate talent agencies.
‘Gentle Monster’ reportedly became suspicious of Yusef when he submitted the final video to them back in February, and the finished project barely reflected any of what they asked for. The ending credits allegedly listed both Kanye and Pharrell as writers and producers of the music, which Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian immediately shut down on Twitter, tweeting, “This is not true. Kanye is not involved and did not produce this song,” which prompted GM to pull the video immediately.
This is not the first time Yusef has allegedly used Kanye’s name for his own personal gain. As previously reported, Yusef allegedly forged Kanye’s signature for a deal to perform at Philipp Plein’s NYFW show in February and denied the forgery and insists Kanye was aware of all business dealings.
