It's the Remix to Remittance: Here's Why R. Kelly's Royalties Might Be in Jeopardy

It looks like the federal government doesn’t see nothing wrong with a little garnishing of wages when it comes to disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly.

Per Business Insider, the “Ignition” singer has yet to make good on the $520,000 debt he owes stemming from his federal New York trial. As a result, on Thursday, prosecutors filed two writs of garnishment against Kelly, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Publishing for his music royalties so that some of that money can be sent out to at least two victims from the trial. Prosecutors also mentioned that they’ve also garnished nearly $28,000 from Kelly’s inmate trust account in 2022.

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Kelly is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence in New York after being convicted on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking during his New York trial in 2021. In February, a Chicago federal judge sentenced Kelly to 20 years in prison after being convicted on six of the 13 charges “in connection with sexual abuse during the 1990s, including three counts of coercing minors into sexual activity and three of producing sex tapes involving a minor.” However, the judge also ruled that the 20 years could be served congruently, meaning that sentence can start at the same time as his 30-year sentence.

Additionally, if Kelly and his legal team have it their way, he won’t be spending too much more time behind bars. As previously reported by The Root, he and his team have filed an appeal against his New York trial, arguing that the prosecutorial team failed to “meet their burden of proof” during the ordeal. They’re seeking to either get his conviction reversed or a new trial all together, should their appeal get granted.

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