50 Cent 'barred from his own bank account'

The hip-hop artist, 39, was ordered to pay Sleek Audio, an earphone manufacturer in Florida, nearly $4.5 million in attorney fees and $12 million in damages in March.

The company won a three-year battle against the star, real name Curtis Jackson III, after they accused him of stealing the headphone designs he commissioned them to create and manufacture for his own project.

“Mr. Jackson is currently in litigation with a company he invested millions of dollars in that refuses to pay a judgment he obtained against them in 2013,” his attorney, Stephen J. Savva, said in a statement.

“As has been previously reported, in 2014 an arbitrator issued a ruling against him which he is currently appealing in the Florida Courts. ‎While this appeal is pending, the company has been desperately attempting to locate and restrain funds from any account it can find bearing the name 'Curtis Jackson,' whether or not those accounts actually belong to Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson.

“Mr. Jackson is confident that he will prevail on his appeal and that when the case becomes fully pubic, everyone will know exactly why he felt compelled to fight the ruling. In the meanwhile, it should come as no surprise that Mr. Jackson's assets are appropriately protected for someone of his stature.”

Jackson had sold his versions based on their designs as part of his 50-Over line, which he manufactured with SMS Audio following his break from Sleek in 2011.

The damages were based on SMS net profits over three years.

According to Forbes in May, Jackson had a net worth of $140million. He also owns a record label, G Unit, and a successful clothing line and was the proud face of Glacéau vitamin water, which made $100 after being sold for $4billion to Coca-cola in 2007.

Credit: The Independent