NEW YORK, April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Grammy-nominated musician Joseph "Fat Joe" Cartagena filed a lawsuit against his former hype man Terrance Dixson and Dixson's attorney Tyrone Blackburn for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In the complaint, Cartagena outlines how Dixson and Blackburn conspired to extort him for money and it started on March 23, 2025, when both parties sent a written demand to Cartagena seeking financial compensation for being a "ghostwriter and uncredited vocalist" on some of Cartagena's songs.

When the false demand was ignored, they resorted to lower depths for their financial demands in an April 21, 2025 letter and threatened to file a complaint "not just for unpaid wages and other compensation, but also — and with utter disregard for truth or decency — false and outrageous allegations against Cartagena that have absolutely nothing to do with Dixon's purported unpaid wages, including unspeakable acts such as statutory rape, forced labor, sex trafficking, and fraud."

Additionally, Blackburn made false statements to Cartagena's lawyer Joe Tacopina, insinuating that he verified all the allegations and had spoken to critical witnesses, including one of the alleged minors, who ultimately denied ever speaking to Blackburn.

"These allegations are completely false and part of a criminal conspiracy orchestrated between a disgruntled former hype man and his attorney," Cartagena said. "These two individuals have been scheming together to extort me with their elaborate and ludicrous demands changing by the day. The relentless threats, harassment, and defamation I've endured as they peddle salacious lies are utterly deplorable. I'm taking legal action to expose their misconduct and I'm fully confident that the facts will reveal this is nothing more than a deceptive and desperate scam."

The lawsuit further notes how Dixson has harassed Joe and his representatives on social media and through text messages over the course of the past few years.

"The allegations against Mr. Cartagena are completely false and part of a criminal extortion scheme orchestrated by an attorney who a federal judge recently condemned for abusing the court system to harass and pressure defendants," Tacopina said. "Mr. Cartagena will not be intimidated by fabricated claims, lies about witnesses, or shameless threats. We are taking immediate legal action to expose this fraudulent scheme and we will hold all parties fully accountable."

The lawsuit goes on to note that Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York previously criticized Blackburn's legal tactics, writing that he "improperly files cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly."

Most recently, the complaint also explains that Judge J. Paul Oetken recently issued a warning to Blackburn and asserted that his legal filings are "replete with inaccurate statements of law" and "full of similar irrelevant insults, misstatements, and exaggerations."

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SOURCE Fat Joe