Authorities allege that Cash Out was the leader of a criminal organization that lured and coerced women into prostitution.
Authorities have long warned about the epidemic of sex and human trafficking sweeping the Atlanta area, and a local rapper is reportedly being accused of involvement in multiple crimes. Hip hop has been inundated with news about rapper Cash Out, real name Michael Hakeem Gibson, who has been arrested on charges of running a “criminal enterprise,” reports WSB-TV. A 41-count indictment named Gibson as the leader of an organization accused of persuading women into prostitution.
Gibson is also charged with sex trafficking, extortion, rape, human trafficking for sexual bondage and aggravated bestiality, and his name is one of six people named in the lengthy indictment. Prosecutors reportedly claimed Gibson used his connections as a rapper to lure his victims.
It was alleged that some women were being held against their will and another was beaten.
“So far we’ve saved two,” Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Earnell Winfrey said. “Some of these women are our most vulnerable women and he lured them in, made them think he cared about them and that he would care for them, only to flip the script and then start pimping them.” He added added, “He is accused of … whipping a young lady who is a sex worker, and this was one of the girls he recruited.”
“The most disturbing aspect of this case is that women in our community have been harassed and brutalized by people who have had a chance to do something different with their lives,” said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. “He’s a very talented musical actor. Unfortunately, he didn’t stay in that business and switched to the business that indicts him.”
The rapper reportedly previously pleaded not guilty, but this new indictment has added several more counts to the charges. Willis wants people to know that there are “a lot of people” who are “recruiting young women through social media,” and that includes well-known rappers.
Cash Out is currently imprisoned. If convicted, he faces 25 years in prison.
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