The size of R. Kelly's prison commissary fund has apparently been determined by the government.
According to Bloomberg, after R. Kelly didn't pay $140,000 in court-ordered fines, prosecutors asked a federal court to take roughly $28,000 from his inmate commissary budget.
The letter sent on August 4 read, “the defendant had accumulated substantial funds in his inmate trust account.”
The Bureau of Prisons consequently froze the funds, leaving him with $500. The same day, Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s attorney, tweeted that the government was acting unethically.
She explained, “After seizing his funds and after sending this email, @EDNYnews decided to file a motion to confiscate his trust account money. You’re supposed to do that BEFORE you take the money.”
“The BOP confiscated the majority of Mr. Kelly’s funds today with no notice to him and without any court order. As you know, the EDNY judgement is on appeal before the Second Circuit. Please advise whether you have any information regarding what authority exist that allowed the BOP to confiscate his money.”
R. Kelly was found guilty on nine counts of different racketeering and sex trafficking crimes in September, and after his conviction, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly sentenced him to 30 years in prison in June. Eleven accusers—nine women and two men—proved that he had abused them.
The federal prosecutors said, “He committed these crimes using his fame and stardom as both a shield, which prevented close scrutiny or condemnation of his actions.”
“And a sword, which gave him access to wealth and a network of enablers to facilitate his crimes, and an adoring fan base from which to cull his victims.”
Bonjean confirmed that Kelly was put on suicide watch after being sentenced, but she refuted claims that he was contemplating suicide.
After his attorneys filed a lawsuit against Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, he was eventually removed off suicide watch.