Murder Inc. Records co-founder Irv Gotti has been sued for sexual assault and rape by a woman who claims she was in a relationship with the mogul from 2020 to 2022.
Filed on Thursday (July 11) in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court by attorney Adriana Alcalde, an anonymous Jane Doe accuser claims that Gotti — real name Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. — raped her on numerous occasions in Atlanta, Miami and the Caribbean island of Saint Martin during their relationship after meeting through a mutual friend at a poker tournament in the summer of 2020.
The woman alleges that Gotti coerced her into having sex with him after flying her out to Saint Martin for a vacation following their initial meeting and threatened to send her home if she did not comply with this request. She subsequently embarked on a relationship with him, throughout which she claims to have suffered repeated abuse at his hands.
In one alleged instance, the woman claims Gotti flew her to Miami in January 2022 and forced her to perform oral sex on him in an elevator of the Four Seasons Hotel. She says a similar incident occurred in the summer of that same year when she says Gotti coerced her into giving him oral sex during an Uber ride in Atlanta. Per the lawsuit, the couple’s relationship came to an end following the latter trip.
“As a result of this sexually abusive relationship, Plaintiff has suffered severe emotional and psychological harm for which she had to be committed to a psychiatric ward,” the suit reads. “These injuries continue and affect Plaintiff to this day.”
The woman further claims that Gotti has been “slandering” her name, thereby impacting her reputation around Los Angeles. She’s seeking compensatory damages and any legal expenses involved in bringing the suit.
Billboard has reached out to Gotti’s reps for comment.
Gotti rose to fame in the late ’90s after co-founding Murder Inc. Records under Def Jam. In addition to his prowess as an executive, Gotti earned production credits working with DMX, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Jennifer Lopez, Lloyd and more. He was also billed as an artist on the 2002 track “Down 4 U” with Ja Rule, Ashanti, Charli Baltimore and Vita off the album Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc. The track peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 20 weeks on the chart.
In 2022, Gotti told Billboard he sold a 50% ownership stake in Murder Inc.’s past music recordings to Olivier Chastan’s music rights and brand management company Iconoclast. He said the deal was worth $100 million and allowed him to retain ownership of the company.