Hip Hop mogul Jamal “Mally Mall” Rashid has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for owning and operating a prostitution business masked as an escort enterprise.
As reported by Billboard, for 12 years the rapper and producer operated a prostitution business that transported victims across the US.
Rashid told U.S District Judge Gloria Navarro that he quit criminal activity back in 2014 and sought leniency with an apology “to the court, the government and, most importantly, the women involved,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou said in a statement that Rashid had “exploited hundreds of victims” through manipulation and threats.
The top federal prosecutor in the state of Nevada also said Rashid had “encouraged victims to get tattoos of him to demonstrate their loyalty, and led many of them to believe he would advance their careers in show business.”
Rashid’s attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said he “accepted full responsibility for his conduct that occurred almost a decade ago.”
“He will serve his sentence and looks forward to returning to the music industry,” they said in a statement.
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As reported by Billboard, Rashid pleaded guilty in October 2019 to using an interstate facility to aid unlawful activity, in a plea agreement that did not require him to register as a sex offender.
While Chesnoff told Navarro that Rashid had been working with the homeless and teenagers in crisis as part of his rehabilitation, Navarro asked Rashid to stop working with vulnerable youths.
Once Rashid is released from prison, Navarro said he will serve three years of supervision.
“I hope you get this message,” said Navarro according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“You’ve just been really lucky. You will spend the rest of your life in prison if you do this again.”
Rashid now has until Friday, August 13th to surrender himself to serve his sentence.
Prior to the case, Rashid worked with artists like Justin Beiber, Tyga, Usher and Sean Kingston. On top of that, he also featured as Mally Mall in the reality TV series Love and Hip Hop Hollywood.
For more on this topic, check out the Hip Hop Observer.
