Dr.Dre and Nicole Young
Rapper and producer, Dr. Dre has filed a lawsuit against ex-wife Nicole Young for allegedly 'embezzling' funds from his recording studio business.
The 56-year-old is suing Young, 51, for allegedly taking money out of accounts for his Recording One music studio in Los Angeles' Sherman Oaks neighborhood, according to legal filings obtained by The Blast.
Dre's lawsuit was filed after the judge overseeing his divorce ordered him in July to pay nearly $300,000 per month to his ex in spousal support for the foreseeable future.
The legal filings indicate that Recording One was formed in 2015 to operate as a recording studio.
Both Dre (who was born Andre Young) and his then-wife were in charge of 'maintenance and control' of the studio assets, and Recording One claims that Young was in charge of writing charges and transferring money for the business.
The studio contends that she 'decimated' its bank accounts by withdrawing $353,571.85 in the early stages of her divorce from from Dre, which she filed for in June of 2020.
Amid the divorce proceedings, she was removed from the studio's trust. In its filing, the studio argues that Young 'egregiously' failed to uphold her fiduciary interest by 'embezzling and stealing money from (the company’s) bank account, and using the money for her own, personal obligations.'
Young could find herself in serious legal trouble if the studio's allegations are found to be true.
The business accuses her of violating Penal Code 496, which states: 'Every person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be stolen or obtained, or who conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing, selling, or withholding any property from the owner… shall be punished by imprisonment in county jail for not more than one year.'
Back in October, TMZ reported that the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating Young for the withdrawals, though she claims that she had a right to withdraw the funds because her name was on the account.
Young filed to divorce Dre in June 2020, citing irreconcilable differences after 24 years of marriage. The estranged couple, who both got married on May 25, 1996, have two adult children together: son Truice and daughter Truly.