All I'm thinkin' 'bout is gettin' paid
Big yachts, mansions, buyin' real estate (COME ON!)...
You think Buck goin' bankrupt?! Kill yourself!
— Young Buck, "New York City" (2008)The Internal Revenue Service won't be selling off Nashville rapper Young Buck's worldly possessions anytime soon. Their fate is now subject to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.David Darnell Brown, who performs under the stage name Young Buck, filed for protection under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code earlier this month. The filing came soon after IRS personnel carried out an early-morning raid on Brown's lakeside home in Hendersonville, seizing much of his personal property.
The bankruptcy petition came to light Monday after Nashville's U.S. District Court lifted the seal it had placed on court filings related to the August 3 seizure. The Chapter 13 process, designed to allow individuals to restructure their debts, automatically halts efforts by any creditor — even the IRS — to collect on debts owed by the person who files. Creditors can ask the bankruptcy court to lift the stay against them on certain grounds, allowing them to move against the debtor.
The tax authority claims Brown owes it about $305,000 for taxes due between 2006 and 2008, including penalties, interest and collection costs.
In a court filing that detailed the materials seized, IRS revenue officer Lauren Thompson valued them at roughly $70,000. Among the property listed were these items:
* A "Breitling Bentley Watch with diamond face and band," said to be worth $31,000.
* More than $20,000 worth of music-recording gear.
* More than a dozen plaques, photos and other memorabilia related to albums by rapper 50 Cent, with whom Brown has been in a feud for several years.
* A portrait of rappers Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, 50 Cent, Eminem and Young Buck.
* "G-Unit Beg for Mercy Award pictures."
* "Faux fur men's light grey coat w/ 'YB Cashville' stitched inside."
* Six televisions, including four with screen dimensions between 43 and 55 inches.
* "Ms. Pac Man video game."
* "Hand crafted snake skin purse from Nigeria."
* "Indigenous Art from Australia."
* "X-Box machine." (Brown complained after the raid that "they took my kids' Playstation.")
In documents filed August 19 as part of the bankruptcy filing, Brown declares assets of almost $6 million and liabilities just under $1.04 million. But $5 million of the assets come from a contingent claim listed as "Brown v. Bruce Seckendorf, G Unit Inc,. Curtis Jackson III, Michael Clervoix." The filings do not specify whether this is a lawsuit Brown has already filed or one he contemplates filing later.
Seckendorf is business manager of the rap group G Unit, with which Brown was associated until quarrels arose a few years ago. Jackson is the real name of 50 Cent, a member of G Unit, and Clervoix is the real name of Sha Money XL, president of the G-Unit record label.
As detailed in a July Nashville Scene cover feature, Brown is locked in a contract dispute with Jackson and the G-Unit label that has prevented him from releasing a new album since 2007.
The filings include the notation "reject executory contract with record label" in relation to G Unit Records Inc.
Brown states in the court papers that his 2009 gross income was more than $211,000, while he took in about $141,000 in 2008. Among his debts, in addition to sums owed the IRS, is a $56,000 claim from New York's state tax commission.
One claim listed in the documents, a $535 item with a creditor named as "Rob Reg Yng," includes the annotation "04 Davidson Co. Criminal Court." A check of Brown's record at the Davidson Criminal Court Clerk's office indicates that he has been arrested or cited numerous times since 1999 for offenses ranging from traffic offenses to drug possession and domestic assault.
After the IRS raid, Brown issued a statement saying the tax issues had arisen "because I trusted accountants, lawyers and managers to handle my business for me while I focused on making music. From now on, I am going to stay on top of my own business."Jimmie Lynn Ramsaur of the local U.S. Attorney's office is representing the IRS in the seizure case. Lynda F. Jones, of The Jones Law Group PLLC in Nashville, is Brown's bankruptcy attorney.
Efforts to reach Brown's business manager, known as G.I., were unsuccessful Monday afternoon and evening.
Source: Nashville City Paper
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