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Embattled music mogul Russell Simmons is on the hook for over $8 million in confidential settlement agreements, according to three women who have accused him of sexual assault.
Lawyers for the women — Toni Sallie, Alexia Jones and Tina Klein-Baker — filed affirmations this month claiming the music mogul has not paid them over $8 million in settlements plus interest, according to New York Supreme Court filings obtained Friday by USA TODAY.
Each of the women claims Simmons, who admitted to no wrongdoing, agreed to settlements in 2023 and made initial payments but failed to continue paying toward their settlement amounts. The Def Jam Recordings founder allegedly owes Sallie $2,940,000 plus 20% yearly interest, Jones $190,000 plus 20% yearly interest and Klein-Baker $4,950,000.
USA TODAY has reached out to Simmons’ rep for comment.
The settlement documents do not detail what the women have accused Simmons of. However Jones, in a 2020 sit down with CBS News, claimed Simmons forced himself onto her during their first date in 1991.
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“He raped me right up against the (expletive) wall. Excuse my language … that’s what he did. I had to keep this secret,” she said while tearing up.
Jones continued: “This was a very swift attack, and what was going through my mind more than anything was, ‘Why?’ Because I liked Russell. And I would’ve just kissed him. I would’ve made out with him. I would’ve — he didn’t have to attack me.”
In a 2017 New York Times article, Klein-Baker, a singer, claimed Simmons assaulted her in the early 1990s when he was her manager, and Sallie, a music journalist, claimed the former record executive assaulted her at his Manhattan apartment in the late 1980s.
Sallie’s agreement cites “alleged personal physical injury or physical sickness, including any alleged emotional distress and mental anguish originated from or attributable to that alleged personal physical injury or sickness.” Klein-Baker’s settlement agreement appears to be sealed.
Simmons has been accused of sexual assault by at least a dozen women in recent years, including former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon. He has denied any of the interactions were non-consensual but stepped down from his businesses as allegations began to mount in 2017. Simmons has since relocated to Bali, Indonesia, which has no extradition treaty with the U.S.
Contributing: Cydney Henderson and Patrick Ryan
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