The U.S. Marshal will formally auction off Dame Dash’s interest in Roc-A-Fella Records in order to satisfy his outstanding debt.
On Thursday, August 1, TMZ was able to get documentation that showed Dame’s 33.3% stake in the renowned record label will be auctioned off at a public auction in New York City on August 29. The auction’s stated goal is to collect judgment, which is related to the $823k he owes film producer Josh Weber for defamation and copyright infringement regarding the 2016 picture Dear Frank.
Since buyers will need to email Christopher Brown, Weber’s attorney, in order to register for the auction, he will be an active participant, according to the documents. Furthermore, a deposit of twenty percent (i.e., at least $240,000) must be made at the time of the sale, and the minimum offer cannot be less than $1.2 million.
Among the items that will be included is JAY-Z’s iconic debut Reasonable Doubt, which Dame Dash himself appeared to allude to only a month ago.
On July 19, the troubled co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records shared a picture of Reasonable Doubt on Instagram along with a promotional image of Jay and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, the label’s third founder.
Dame stated in the post: “This trash is for sale 1/3… simply sincere questions.
According to a 2022 court decision, Dash could not have sold any portion of JAY’s iconic debut without Roc-A-Fella’s consent; however, he could have sold his one-third share in the company as a whole.
The legal dispute started when Dame announced her intention to sell off a portion of the album Reasonable Doubt in 2022 as a non-fungible token (NFT).
When Dame was compelled by a judge earlier this year to sell his shares in order to satisfy his previous debt, Biggs and Jay both objected, citing company bylaws that require the board of directors to authorize any sales of ownership holdings before any can be made.
U.S. Magistrate Robert W. Lehrburger, however, decided that because the former executive’s ownership of Roc-A-Fella is his personal property, it can really be confiscated to assist pay the verdict.
Lehrburger chastised Jay and Biggs in his 15-page ruling for drafting a no sell-off clause at a 2021 board meeting that Dame did not participate in or vote in. He gave Roc-A-Fella instructions to give the US Marshals Service Dame’s stock certificate so they could hold an auction in 180 days.
However, Jay and Biggs’ primary opposition is more about their worries that an outsider would acquire Roc-A-Fella’s intellectual property than it is about supporting Dame. Lehrburger stated, “They can participate in the auction and place the winning bid” as a solution to the problem.
