Author Accuses Damon Dash of Hiding Assets to Avoid Paying Copyright Infringement Judgment

Edwyna Brooks, who previously won a $300,000 copyright infringement lawsuit against former Roc-A-Fella Records owner Damon Dash, has filed a new lawsuit accusing him of financial evasion. According to The New York Post, Brooks claims Dash has failed to settle his debt from the 2020 ruling.

In her original lawsuit, Brooks stated that Damon Dash had improperly marketed and sold a film project based on her character, a female crime boss from her book series “Mafietta.” Despite counter-suing, Dash lost the case.

The recent legal action, filed in Manhattan federal court, alleges that Damon Dash and his girlfriend, Rachel Horn, have been using their companies to shield assets from creditors. The lawsuit accuses them of “comingling” and manipulating their business entities to avoid paying debts, including nearly $100,000 in interest owed to Brooks.

Chris Brown, Brooks’ attorney, highlighted that Dash’s maneuvers included transferring assets from his company, Poppington LLC, to an undisclosed entity to circumvent the judgment.

“Mr. Dash has about $10 million in personal debt,” Brown stated. He emphasized that had they recovered the full amount owed at an auction last month, the new lawsuit would have been unnecessary.

Further complicating matters, the lawsuit details how Poppington began “fraudulently conveying” its assets to The Dash Group (TDG) to evade Brooks’ judgment, suggesting a defacto merger between the two entities designed to hide assets.

In a separate event last November, the State of New York seized Dash’s share in Roc-A-Fella Records at an auction, selling it for $1 million—a fraction of the $8.7 million he owes, which was anticipated to bring in $10 million. This sale did not significantly dent Dash’s substantial debt, according to reports.