Federal Prosecutors Asks Court To Use Money From R. Kelly Inmate Account To Go Towards Paying Court Fines

Federal Prosecutors Asks Court To Use Money From R. Kelly’s Inmate Account To Go Towards Paying Court Fines

Federal prosecutors in New York are aiming to get their hands on money that convicted R&B artist, R. Kelly has in his inmate account because he has failed to pay any court fines imposed on him.

According to Law & Crime, the R&B singer has not paid any of his court fines and prosecutors want to seize money that he has in his account. He reportedly has $28,000 in that prison account. Kelly is currently serving his sentence in Brooklyn at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Saavedra revealed in a recent letter to the courts that they want to essentially “garnish” the $28,328.24 Kelly has in his account. The prosecutors have asked the Bureau of Prisons to restrain that money.

After Kelly was given a 30-year prison term after being found guilty to the charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly ordered Kelly to pay a $100,000 fine, a $900 special assessment, and $40,000 assessment under the Justice for Trafficking Victims Act. As of last week, the prosecutors say the convicted entertainer hasn’t paid anything towards settling that debt.

“The Government has been informed by the BOP that the Defendant had accumulated substantial funds in his inmate trust account,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Saavedra stated in a five-page letter.

“Further, the BOP has confirmed that it left $500 in the Defendant’s trust account for Defendant’s use in MCC Chicago. Accordingly, as of this writing, the BOP has restrained a total $27,828.24.”

“The Government now seeks entry of an order authorizing the BOP to turn over the restrained funds for application to the Defendant’s outstanding criminal penalties,” the letter continues.

A New York jury found Kelly guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering last year. The disgraced singer-songwriter is scheduled to go on a separate criminal trial in Chicago, where he was recently transported.