Rapper Fat Joe is defending himself against some pretty disturbing allegations related to a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed in federal court by one of his former hype men. According to the $20 million suit filed by Terrance "T.A." Dixon, the "Lean Back" rapper, born Joseph Cartagena, is being accused of having sexual relations with children who were as young as 15 and 16 years old.
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Dixon claims in court documents obtained by PEOPLE that the 54-year-old "All the Way Up" artist, “engaged in coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation and psychological coercion.” He goes on to say he personally witnessed Joe's involvement with several underage girls, including a young woman with whom he had a sexual relationship in exchange for money and payment of her cell phone bill and a 15-year-old girl he took on the road and "would put her up in a condo he rented a few blocks from his house with his wife," according to additional reporting by The Daily Mail.
Along with his claims about Joe's involvement with underage girls, Dixon's suit also alleges the rapper forced him into over 4,000 sexual acts during their nearly 16-year working relationship in order “to maintain his standing within the Enterprise.”
Dixon, who says he was a “lyricist, background vocalist, security team member, and creative collaborator” for Fat Joe between 2006 and 2019, says he was also "consistently underpaid, denied songwriting credits and deliberately concealed from royalties and backend compensation" by the Bronx-born rapper.
But Joe is denying all of Dixon's claims. His lawyer, Joe Tacopina told Page Six that Dixon is trying to use his suit as a form of public pressure against the rapper to force a financial settlement. Fat Joe filed a suit of his own, accusing Dixon and his attorney of defamation in April 2025.
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