Rapper Ca$h Out Sentenced to Life in Prison on Racketeering & Sex Trafficking Charges

Rapper Ca$h Out (born John Michael Hakeem Gibson) has been sentenced to life in prison plus a 70-year sentence for racketeering, rape and sex trafficking charges tied to Gibson allegedly running a prostitution enterprise.

According to WSB-TV, the “Cashin’ Out” rapper was sentenced during a hearing in Atlanta court on Monday (July 21) after being convicted by a jury last week. Ca$h Out’s mother, Linda Smith, was reportedly also sentenced to 30 years behind bars while the rapper’s cousin, Tyrone Taylor, received life in prison plus 70 years for his involvement in the trafficking enterprise.

According to court documents viewed by Billboard, Ca$h Out’s racketeering crimes date back to 2013, while the prosecution alleges that the trafficking took place in 2018 and he committed rape in 2019. The 34-year-old also faced charges for aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy, firearm possession as well as misdemeanors for pandering and pimping.

“For the rest of my life, I will fear that he will kill me, all because I wouldn’t do what he wanted me to do,” one victim reportedly told the courtroom.

Ca$h Out took the stand on Monday and faced the judge to once again deny the charges and heinous accusations levied against him. “I was able to see how the jurors are put in a tough position to sit there and judge someone’s life,” Ca$h said. “It’s a hard decision and I felt like they made the wrong judgment. I’ve done things in my life — I’m not perfect, but the things I’ve been accused of I know I haven’t done those things.”

He continued: “During this trial, I was able to see how valuable life is… Sometimes I let people stay around who I knew was going to affect a situation I had going on. For the people who came to this trial I never met a day in my life… [I] don’t even know where most of these stories came from, it’s baffling.”

Ca$h Out, a Georgia native, rose to prominence in 2012 with his breakout trap anthem “Cashin’ Out,” which cracked the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40 and topped the Hot Rap Songs chart. The Epic Records signee caught another Hot 100 hit in 2014 when “She Twerkin” reached No. 98 on the chart.

Ca$h Out’s debut album, Let’s Get It, arrived in August 2014 and peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200. The project serves as his only studio album and features appearances from Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, Rich Homie Quan, Waka Flocka Flame and French Montana.