Cash Out Found Guilty of Rape and Sex Trafficking—Mother and Associate Also Convicted

Atlanta rapper Cash Out, born John Michael Gibson, has been convicted on the majority of charges in his Fulton County state trial. The jury returned the verdict on Friday, July 18th, finding the artist guilty of racketeering, rape, pimping, aggravated sodomy, and two counts of sex trafficking, according to Atlanta News First. He was acquitted on one count of sex trafficking, sexual servitude, aggravated assault, and maintaining a place of prostitution.

Cash Out’s mother, Linda Smith, also faced charges and was found guilty of racketeering and one count of trafficking. Co-defendant Tyrone Taylor was convicted on all charges except one pimping count. Prosecutors accused the trio of leveraging their record label to recruit women into prostitution. One woman shared that “she was only given food if she had sex with men for money.”

During the trial, Cash Out was accused of trying to silence a witness with assistance from his mother. Prosecutors played a 2021 interrogation video of Smith taken after her arrest at a physical therapy clinic. In the recording, she defended herself by saying she was “at the facility to look for a friend who had missed a probation appointment.” Jail phone calls were also played in which Cash Out purportedly instructed Smith to locate the woman. Smith stated in response, “I mean, y’all acting like I done kidnapped her.”

Sentencing for Cash Out is scheduled for Monday, July 21st. Fans and observers are awaiting the court’s decision on penalties following this high-profile case.