Gucci Mane’s Management Facing Federal Fraud Charges

While Alabama rapper Gucci Mane sits out his time behind bars, his management team is gearing up to fight some serious legal battles of their own. According to Ozone Magazine, several club promoters have come forward to claim that Gucci's management team owes them fees tallying up to the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Promoters spanning from Chicago to Florida have alleged that booking agents Johnnie Cabbell and Debra Antney signed several faulty contracts in the past year, cheating them out of booking fees.

Some of the trouble began during Gucci's 2009 'So Icey' tour with Nicki Minaj and OJ da Juiceman when the three artists failed to show up for a series of scheduled shows in the Florida area. Promoters were left high and dry, footing the bill for the cancellation of about a half-dozen shows, costing more than $140,000. Promoters said they were denied refunds for the shows and claim that even after Gucci was jailed for parole violation they continued to foot the bills for cancelled shows. Involved parties believe that the contracts were signed through Ujaama Entertainment, with full knowledge that Gucci would not be able to perform.

Attorney Paul W. Gardner, who represents one of the promoters in question, says that it's not yet clear whether the faulty contracts were intentional, since there are so many entities involved. "From a legal standpoint, when someone does something wrong to you, you can sue that person. Person A sues Person B; laymen understand that [concept]. But the problem arises when a middleman is included and the person on the back end does the harm," Gardner said.

Both Cabbell and Antney can face charges of federal fraud if found guilty in court.