Nicki Minaj’s mom, Carol Maraj, has reached a $400,000 settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit connected to the 2021 hit-and-run crash that killed the rapper’s father, Robert Maraj, closing a years-long legal battle that rocked hip-hop and pulled one of rap’s biggest stars into a deeply personal family tragedy.
According to TMZ, court documents show Carol agreed to a settlement that includes $300,000 from Charles Polevich, the driver who struck Robert, and another $100,000 from an insurance company. After roughly $133,000 in attorney fees and about $9,800 in reimbursements, Robert’s estate is expected to receive about $234,000.
The settlement brings a new layer of closure to a case that has followed Nicki’s family since February 2021, when Robert Maraj was hit while walking in Mineola, New York. AP reported that Polevich stopped briefly after striking him but did not call for help. Prosecutors said he later went home, parked the white 1992 Volvo station wagon in his garage, and covered it with a tarp. Robert was taken to a hospital and died the next day. He was 64.
Carol originally filed a $150 million lawsuit against Polevich, claiming damages for the loss of her husband’s companionship. Court records later described the case as a wrongful death action tied to Robert’s death, with Carol alleging economic loss and the loss of “services, society, comfort, companionship and consortium” following his passing, according to Justia’s court record summary.
The case hit hip-hop hard because it was not just another celebrity-adjacent lawsuit. It involved the father of Nicki Minaj, an artist whose career, lyrics, and public image have long been tied to her difficult upbringing, Queens roots, and complicated family history. Nicki later described her father’s death as “the most devastating loss of my life.”
The legal battle also took a more controversial turn when Polevich reportedly tried to depose Nicki and question her about her father, pointing to lyrics that referenced painful parts of her childhood. That move added a new angle to the case, raising questions about whether a superstar’s art and public trauma should be used in court to challenge a family’s loss.
Polevich pleaded guilty in 2022 to leaving the scene of an incident without reporting and tampering with physical evidence. He was sentenced to one year in jail, fined $5,000, and had his license suspended for six months. At sentencing, Carol said he left Robert “like a dog on the street” and called the punishment a “slap in the face for the family.”
When the lawsuit was first filed, attorney Ben Crump wrote that Polevich was “more concerned about running away and hiding than seeking help,” adding, “Polevich’s behavior was criminal, cowardly, and immoral.”
Paul Napoli and I have filed a $150 million lawsuit in the hit-and-run death of Robert Maraj, @NICKIMINAJ‘s father. Charles Polevich was not only irresponsible & negligent in hitting Maraj, but was more concerned about running away and hiding than seeking help. pic.twitter.com/tPrJgwYRIV
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) March 19, 2021
For Nicki Minaj’s family, the settlement may end the civil fight. But for fans, it reopens a painful chapter in hip-hop history, where fame, grief, family trauma, and the justice system collided in public view.
