Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
Russell Simmons is finding out that doing business with family isn’t always a good idea. He is now suing his Kimora Lee for reportedly fleecing him out of millions of shares.
As spotted on Page Six the Rap mogul is taking his ex-wife to court over what he alleges is fraud. The story, as expected, is somewhat complicated. Kimora’s now husband Tim Leissner is currently facing some heavy time stemming from some very serious money laundering charges from 2018. The former chairman of Goldman Sachs in Southeast Asia pleaded guilty to charges in connection to his supposed plan to rip off 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
Russell is alleging that Lee and Leissner conspired to transfer his four million Celsius shares to their accounts to help pay for his legal and bail fees. But according to the documentation filed he says that he has tried to mediate the issue privately for years but has been unsuccessful. The Def Jam Records founder “has repeatedly tried for years to avoid filing this lawsuit and resolve it amicably” the papers read. His goal was “to get the important family matter of the Celsius shares to a close so that we can put it behind us and carry on as the loving united front we have always been.”
But that is where the endearing sentiments end in the filing. “I have invited you to share in many of my business opportunities including introducing you to Celsius which has been very lucrative for you” the paperwork continued. “I am shocked and saddened to see how your side has behaved in response to my repeated attempts to get an agreement from you to rightfully and legally reaffirm my 50% of the Celsius shares … which have been locked up with the government after being used for your husband’s bail money. This, by the way, having been done under an ILLEGAL transfer of my funds that I had NO KNOWLEDGE OF and would have never agreed to.”
Simmons and Lee married in 1998 and divorced in 2009. Kimora has yet to comment on the matter.
Photo: Bernard Smalls
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