The sister of the late Tupac Shakur, the American rapper and actor, is suing the executor of her mother’s estate as she claims he has embezzled millions, according to the NME.
Afeni Shakur-Davis’s estate mostly consists of the funds Tupac left after he died in September 1996 in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Tupac’s sister, Sekyiwa is suing executor Tom Whalley for “blatant violations of his duties as an executor and using the money as a “piggy bank” to make himself richer.
She filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles earlier this month (10 January). In it, the suit says Whalley has effectively embezzled millions of dollars for his own benefit and taken excessive compensation in a position that he should be barred from based on conflict of interest.
Royalties transferred to mother
Royalties from Tupac’s music “the principal income-producing asset” were transferred to Afeni after Tupac died. Tupac is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time and is a best-selling artist who has sold more than 75 million records all over the world. He was inducted into the Hip-Hop Gall of Fame in 2002.
After Tupac’s mother died in 2016, the royalties transferred to Whalley.
In the suit, Sekyiwa said that Whalley made himself the manager of Amaru Entertainment, Tupac’s record label. The company makes a large amount of money for the trust and Sekyiwa says Whalley has already received more than $5.5 million in the past five years through Amaru.
Personal property ‘withheld’
She also claims he withheld personal property Afeni inherited from Tupac, including cars, gold records and jewellery.
Whalley’s lawyer Howard King has denied the allegations. In a statement, he said the legal claims were disappointing and detrimental to all the beneficiaries of the trust set up by Afeni after her son’s death.
The lawyer said he was confident the court would conclude Whalley has always acted in the trust’s best interests and those of Tupac’s beneficiaries.
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