It seems as if this divorce is going to get significantly worse before it gets better, as there are now words like grand theft being thrown around. Dr. Dre’s wife Nicole Young filed for divorce from The Chronic rapper and producer, and while their kids are grown and moved on, it seems as if the pairs issues are still lingering and coming into the light.
Recently, the pair were in the press because it was alleged that their pre-nuptial agreement may be null and void, a fact which would complicate Dre’s case extensively.
“I was extremely reluctant, resistant and afraid to sign the agreement and felt backed into a corner. Given the extraordinary pressure and intimidation by Andre, I was left with no option but to hire a lawyer (of course, with the help of Andre’s team of professionals) and unwillingly signed the agreement very shortly before our marriage,” she previsouly said. She also claims that Dre tore it up a few years into their relationship – making it null and void.
“Andre acknowledged to me that he felt ashamed he had pressured me into signing a premarital agreement and he tore up multiple copies of the agreement in front of me. Since the day he tore up the agreements, we both understood that there was no premarital agreement, and that it was null and void.”
Her lawyers filed a new suit against Dre, claiming that in addition to their divorce proceedings, he’s also been making moves behind the scenes that infringe upon her rights to their property.
Nicole Young claims that due to the “community property” laws in the State of California, she co-owns the trademarks to Andre Young’s stage name, “Dr. Dre,” and also the trademark to the iconic album The Chronic – since Dre registered them in 1997. The couple married May 25, 1996.
While all of this continues to devolve, there’s been another development that involves Dr. Dre’s business accounts, to which the wife had access to, and her withdrawing money from them in recent days without apparent authorization. Now, Dre’s business partner is stepping up his attention to the matter and tossing around some heavy accusations against the former attorney.
Larry Chatman, who founded Dre’s company Record One with him a number of years ago, has accused Nicole Young of grand theft, after she wrote checks that allowed her to withdraw almost $400k combined from the business accounts.
Chatman had already weighed in on the divorce proceedings by way of already accusing Nicole Young of embezzling $353,000 from the account at the end of August, a charge already one that carries a lot of weight. He accused her of criminal conduct and wrote a letter that quickly went viral.
Now, Chatman claims that the ex-wife withdrew another $31K after receiving the letter from Chatman.
Now, her lawyers have fired back, alleging a smear campaign against the wife as she fights for her rights. “This is a clear attempt to smear Nicole’s name. As people are well aware, banks do not give out money to people who are not authorized to receive it,” said lawyer Bryan Freedman to TMZ.
This is sure to continue to get even more contentious, as there is a lot of history between the two parties – and money at stake.
