Birdman Closed His Bank Accounts Before Money Could Be Seized Over $1 Million Debt

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Rapper Birdman closed several banks accounts, which prevented his ex-employee from collecting on $1 million owed.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Birdman shut down 7 accounts he held with Citibank on August 31, 2019.

Citibank revealed the information in Birdman’s legal battle with his ex-employee, Nicolas Jose Penzo.

Last month, a Florida judge granted a default judgment against Birdman in the amount of of $1,069,876. The money was awarded to Penzo, who is now trying to collect.

Penzo fired off subpoenas to Citibank demanding they seize all of Birdman’s money and hand it over.

In newly filed documents, Citibank claims to not have any of Birdman’s cash. They point to him closing several accounts in August. The docs state, “Citibank has no tangible or intangible personal property of the Defendants.”

Penzo will have to figure out a different strategy to collect on his $1 million.

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Back in April 2018, Penzo sued Birdman, Cash Money Records and Pine View Management LLC.

In his lawsuit, Penzo claimed he worked as Birdman’s property manager from 2015 until May 27, 2017.

He said his duties included painting, handling the cleaning services, and coordinating with contractors to fix things such as the electricity.

Penzo said Birdman was to pay him $150 per day. He claimed to have been worked (sometimes) from 9am to 9pm. Penzo said he worked an average of 48-60 hours a week without being properly paid for all overtime hours worked.

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He even said he was only paid every two or three months, sometimes with checks, but mostly with cash. He originally sued claiming to be owed $8,900 in unpaid wages, along with an additional $15k based on the $150 per day. His complaint sought $23,900 in damages.

Birdman never bothered to show up to court, despite Penzo serving him with the legal papers.

Penzo went back to court seeking a default judgment. In the new motion, he said he believes he was owed more than the $24,000. Penzo argued he was owed a total of $1,069,876.

He wrote to the judge, “The Defendant gave me several checks which were returned from his bank for insufficient funds and currently owes me $30,000 in unpaid wages, not including overtime.”

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He said, “I have suffered back pain due to the immense amount of work the Defendant required me to do. I was without work for approximately one year, suffered financially, physically, and emotionally because of the position the Defendant left me in, and therefore feel I am entitled to $1,000,000 in compensatory damages.”

The judge agreed and slapped Birdman with the judgment.

Birdman is also facing a $20 million-dollar legal battle over his former Miami mansion.