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Key Takeaways:
- A Fulton County choose dismissed a civil forfeiture lawsuit, permitting Younger Thug to reclaim seized property.
- The ruling consists of the return of about $145,000 in money, two automobiles and a number of items of jewellery.
- The choice highlights how asset seizures can impression artists dealing with RICO fees.
Younger Thug scored a brand new courtroom win in Atlanta. Almost a yr after strolling free from jail, a Fulton County choose has ordered that the cash, vehicles and jewellery seized throughout his headline-making RICO trial should be returned to the rapper.
On Monday (Aug. 18), Decide Paige Reese Whitaker dismissed a civil forfeiture lawsuit tied to Younger Thug’s Younger Stoner Life Data RICO case. Prosecutors tried to carry onto property seized on the time of his 2022 arrest, however the choose dominated they missed obligatory deadlines to maneuver the case ahead.
The ruling means Younger Thug is entitled to reclaim roughly $145,000 in money, a Chevrolet Corvette, a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a number of items of jewellery. Different high-value property, together with a Lamborghini Aventador, Mercedes-Benz automobiles and several other firearms, have been already returned earlier within the course of.
“The courtroom has no choice underneath the case legislation and underneath the statute however to grant this dismissal,” Decide Whitaker stated from the bench, per Billboard.
Prosecutors argued the delays have been attributable to Younger Thug’s personal protection crew, noting that legal professional Brian Metal requested scheduling adjustments whereas juggling one other high-profile case in New York. The choose rejected that reasoning, stressing that forfeiture legal guidelines should be “strictly construed towards the state.”
Deputy District Legal professional Jeff DiSantis later advised native media the workplace was “perplexed” by the ruling and is contemplating an enchantment. Any return of property could possibly be postponed if prosecutors transfer ahead with difficult the ruling.
The property dispute was the final free thread in a case that dominated headlines for 3 years. Prosecutors accused Younger Thug’s YSL Data label of working as “Younger Slime Life,” a violent avenue gang in Atlanta. The trial drew widespread consideration not solely due to the rapper’s (and his label signee Gunna’s) stature in Hip Hop, but additionally as a result of prosecutors leaned closely on his lyrics as proof. The controversial tactic fueled ongoing debates about inventive freedom within the authorized system. After a chaotic, drawn-out trial, Younger Thug pled responsible and was in the end sentenced to probation in 2024.