Russell Simmons reportedly owes $3 million to three women after skipping previously agreed court settlements.
The women—journalist Sil Lai Abrams, Sherri Abernathy, and Wendy Carolina Franco—had reached confidential settlement agreements with Simmons in November 2023 for “alleged personal, physical injuries and sickness,” with payment due by October 1, Variety reports.
Simmons provided the women with confessions of judgment, allowing them to seek expedited judgments and begin collections if he defaulted, which he has now done.
Simons did not admit wrongdoing but pledged to pay $1,265,000 each to Abrams and Abernathy and $515,000 to Franco.
The court documents do not include specific details about why the settlements were made. Abrams, an author and domestic violence activist, previously claimed Simmons raped her in 1994.
Russell Simmons has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by more than 20 women. In February, a former Def Jam employee identified as Jane Doe, claimed Simmons raped her in the 1990s.
Days later, he was sued by another ex-Def Jam executive, Drew Dixon. She accused Simmons of engaging in a “malicious campaign to discredit” her sexual assault allegations.
He denies the allegations and speculation he fled to Bali to avoid legal trouble in America.
“People saying that I somehow can’t come home when I’m there all the time wears on you,” Simmons told AllHipHop’s Chuck Creekmur in May. “It wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false. I’m always in L.A., I’m always in New York and Miami. And I’ve never had any reason to feel unsafe in America.”