The ongoing court battle between former couple Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons has finally come to an end, leaving the Def Jam co-founder on the hook for over $100,000.
According to Radar Online, the pair recently appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where the judge granted a motion for payment of attorney fees brought by Lee. In court documents, Simmons has been ordered to pay $83k in legal fees and an additional $35k to cover the costs his ex-wife spent on preparing her motion. The total owed amounts to $100,773.37, and the mogul has 30 days to pay in full. The judgment results from Lee filing a countersuit against Simmons in July after he sued her and her estranged husband, Timothy Leissner.
In October 2021, Simmons accused Lee and Leissner, her investment banker ex, of stealing stocks he owned without permission.
Radar Online reported that Simmons claimed to work with Lee and Leissner on a company called Nu Horizons Investment Group. The company owned the majority stock in the energy drink Celsius.
The 65-year-old entrepreneur states that unbeknownst to him, his ex used four million shares as collateral. Shares were allegedly used when she posted a bond when Leissner was caught up in a money laundering scandal.
As the NY Times reported, to avoid prison time, the former Goldman Sachs banker plead guilty to his involvement in swindling almost $4 billion from individuals in Malaysia. Included in the plea deal, he also agreed to pay back $44 million.
Simmons believes Leissner’s desperation to avoid jail time and the massive amount of restitution owed was the motive behind the theft. She also filed a breach of contract claim against Lee.
However, because Lee could prove that Kimora Lee Simmons sold off his part of the shares before she attempted to use hers for Leissner’s bond, she was not in breach of said contract.
The claim was dismissed, and Lee is now recovering the legal fees she accrued for defending herself.
Russell and Kimora were married from 1998 to 2009. However, they remained friends and in business together in the years after their divorce.
Together they launched multiple brands pivotal in urban culture such as Phat Farm and Baby Phat. They are also parents to Ming Lee 22, and Aoki Lee Simmons, 20.