Judge Rules R. Kelly To Pay Back Rent Using Money From His Royalties

As Robert Kelly awaits his day in court for several sex crime charges, a judge has ordered him to pay his back rent.

Despite the disgraced singer claiming he’s broke, Cook County Judge Patrick Heneghan ruled that “Sony is directed and ordered to turn over any sums accruing to Kelly’s royalty account in the future, up to the sum of MCF’s judgment.’ According to the Chicago Tribune, the order was issued on November 30.

Apparently, the “Bump-n-Grind” singer owes his past landlord, Midwest Commercial Funding, $1.5 million in back rent. The lawsuit has pulled Sony into the mix, claiming R. Kelly has money in royalties.

Kelly was under the record label RCA Records, an entity owned and operated by Sony. RCA received a lot of backlash for their continued association with Kelly, and up until recently, they finally severed its ties, BET reported.
Due to the pressure brought on by protests and advocates against the R&B singer, the label no longer has him as an artist.

And if Kelly thinks he’s going to have any money left over after his former landlord gets their portion, he’s in for a rude awakening. The judge also ruled that whatever is leftover will have to go to another of his victims, who is still waiting for her $4 million she was awarded in a 2019 judgment.

That victim’s identity has not been released.

Late this summer, Kelly told the court he had no money, and as a result, he was unable to meet his financial obligations. He cited his fan-made GoFundMe account and claimed he was relying on it to get by. But after authorities subpoenaed his attorney covering his Brooklyn lawsuit, it was revealed that he was hiding a secret bank account that had more than a million dollars in it.

The account slipped through the federal authorities cracks because it was created under some else’s name.
Kelly, 53, is awaiting trial and faces child pornography, racketeering, and sex trafficking charges. He still maintains his innocence.