• 11
  • March
    2011

Last fall, we wrote about the ongoing bankruptcy disputes of Tennessee-based rapper Young Buck. At that time, the rapper, whose real name is David Darnell Brown, had filed a lawsuit in Tennessee bankruptcy court seeking the return of several personal items that had been seized by the IRS to repay tax debt. The IRS had appealed the suit, stating that the items were not essential to his life or career.

Young Buck is in the news again this week, facing criminal charges as well as pushback from creditors who are asking the bankruptcy court to lift the shield of bankruptcy so they can get at his assets and force him to repay his debt. According to the bankruptcy trustee in charge of his filing, though, those creditors may not have the power to seek such restitution.

Earlier this week, Young Buck was arrested on federal criminal charges of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He pleaded not guilty, stating that the charges were a surprise to him. He will return to court on that charge in the coming months.

In addition, several of Young Buck's creditors have been seeking repayment on his debts, asking a Tennessee court to lift the bankruptcy protections shielding him from repayment or seizure. Ally Financial Inc., which has a secured claim of $37,000 on the rapper's 2008 Cadillac Escalade, is seeking to reclaim the vehicle. The lender claims that Young Buck has missed nine payments totaling over $11,000.

Mortgage servicer Select Portfolio Servicing has also made attempts to reclaim the rapper's Tennessee home, claiming that he owes almost $550,000 and that he has not made a mortgage payment since August of 2009. In response, the bankruptcy trustee assigned to handle Young Buck's case has expressed skepticism that the servicer, who is not the rapper's original mortgage provider, is eligible to bring such a claim without definitive proof that it owns the mortgage.

Source: Wall Street Journal, "Young Buck Adds Criminal Charges to Bankruptcy Woes", Jacqueline Palank, 8 March 2011