R. Kelly’s fall from grace has been a quick and swift one in recent years. Following years of allegations levied against the R&B star, supporters of the Mute R. Kelly movement were finally able to bring enough attention to his indiscretions to bring him to justice. Since he’s been arrested, it appears that his troubles only continue to pile up as new information regularly emerges about his past. He is possibly facing more charges from over 20 years ago.
R. Kelly has been convicted twice in both the states of New York and Illinois. His New York charges were in connection to the complex ring of employees he managed to help him move women around the country at his beck and whim. The R&B singer’s legal team cited a lot of the women as people who wanted to be famous, but that didn’t help his case in court. He was eventually sentenced to 30 years.
Meanwhile, in his hometown of Chicago, Kelly was finally brought up on charges in connection to the film leaked in the late ’90s featuring him and an underaged girl. The woman and her family came forward and confessed to taking hush money from Kelly to deny she was in the clip. He made their family financially dependent on him so that they could not sue or pursue charges. This case has yet to get an official sentencing.
In addition to his mounting legal issues, Kelly is also facing enormous financial woes as well. Kelly is currently not able to tour, and support of his music has waned substantially in recent years. He’s got mounting legal debts that have made it impossible for him to keep any money. Generous donations from fans looking to support him have been confiscated. Over 30k in commissary was garnished by the federal judge and applied to the 300k that he owes one victim who has had to get treated for STD she contracted from the star and get therapy to cope with the PTSD of her time interacting with him. A second victim could be receiving a similar reward.
R. Kelly’s net worth is now estimated to be negative $2 MILLION. pic.twitter.com/bE90xTfaIU
— Pop Tingz (@ThePopTingz) September 26, 2021
In addition to the $300K R. Kelly owes, it’s also expected that prosecutors in his Chicago case will be seeking forfeiture of up to $1.5 million at the time of his sentencing. In 2021, R. Kelly sold his music rights for $5 million. It’s being reported that the sell was ‘fraudulent’ as the disgraced singer sold his music to a friend named Keith Calbert to avoid it being used as collateral in his case. According to documents, R. Kelly was aware he was facing potential legal issues and sold his rights to avoid paying legal fees and settlements.
R. Kelly is reportedly clueless about his finances and has no idea where his money is or how much he has. He has been mismanaging his funds for decades and allowing others to make financial decisions on his behalf. According to celebrity net worth the R&B singer has a net worth of -$2 million. This is not including the most recent fines and settlements the singer is responsible to pay.
Kelly will be officially sentenced in February in connection to his crimes in Illinois. Even after February’s sentencing, he still has other charges he has to fight. R. Kelly is also facing more charges in Cook County. The singer did not have to attend the first state hearing, but the judge will require him to attend future hearings.
According to The Chicago Sun, The Cook County charges stem from allegations as far back as 1998, and an alleged 2003 incident of a hairstylist who was 24 at the time. With so many charges being brought up against him and him already facing 30 years behind bars, prosecutors are curious to see if the courts will even pursue any further charges since they will likely lead to a lighter sentencing than what he already has.
Experts in Chicago say that it is “highly unlikely Kelly will ever see the light of day. He faces up to 90 years in prison on the Chicago charges alone, and he is a 55-year-old man, so he will likely die in prison.”
