Fat Joe accused of sex acts with minors in $20 million lawsuit

Jami Ganz, New York Daily News on Jun 20, 2025

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NEW YORK — Fat Joe’s longtime hype man is accusing him of sex acts with minors in a $20 million lawsuit, nearly two months after the Bronx rapper accused his former associate of extortion.

Terrance “T.A.” Dixon on Thursday sued the 54-year-old “Lean Back” artist, real name Joseph Antonio Cartagena, in a nearly 160-page filing obtained by the Daily News.

The suit, which begins with a “Trigger Warning” for “highly graphic information of a sexual nature,” accuses Cartagena and others — including Peter “Pistol Pete” Torres, Richard “Rich Player” Jospitre, and Jay Z’s Roc Nation of waging “a deliberate and sustained campaign of exploitation.”

Dixon says he was the victim of systematic coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation and psychological coercion while his contributions to Cartagena’s work — which would generate royalties and future licensing and digital revenue — were all but erased.

He says he was “compel(led)” along with others “into degrading sexual performances, often while Defendant watched, recorded, or directed the encounters.”

Dixon says Cartagena had sexual relations with at least three minors — identified as Minors Doe 1, 2 and 3. Cartagena allegedly gave 16-year-old Minor Doe 1 cash and paid for her clothes and cell phone bill in exchange for “oral sex and other sexual acts.”

He’s accused of paying for then 15-year-old Minor Doe 1 to get a Brazilian Butt Lift despite her “body being adolescent and not fully formed.” Dixon says she’s now married to a pro athlete.

Cartagena allegedly fell in love with and “even contemplated leaving his wife” for Minor Doe 3, who he met when she was about to turn 16. He allegedly got her a condo near the one he and his family shared in Florida.

Dixon is accusing Cartagena “and his enterprise associates” of multiple crimes, including sex trafficking, witness retaliation, conspiracy to commit violence, interstate trafficking of minors, tax evasion and money laundering.

The lawsuit comes nearly two years to the day after Dixon began accusing Cartagena of sexual misconduct on social media, citing a 2010 sexual assault claim in which the rapper was questioned.

“This is the right way to fight Joe — through the system. You can’t fight him no other way,” Dixon said in a statement to Variety Thursday. “Joe thinks he’s untouchable.”

In a statement to The News, Cartagena’s lawyer Joe Tacopina slammed the lawsuit as “a blatant act of retaliation — a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the civil suit we filed first.”

“Law enforcement is aware of the extortionate demand at the heart of this scheme,” continued Tacopina, who pointed not just to “a disgruntled former employee trying to revive a false claim,” but Dixon’s lawyer Tyrone Blackburn, who he said has been referred to the Southern District’s disciplinary committee. “Mr. Cartagena will not be intimidated.”

Cartagena in late April accused Dixon and Blackburn of extortion through “wholly fabricated, grotesque, and scandalous allegations,” from those related to pay and credit to the “unspeakable” claims of pedophilia, statutory rape and sexual assault, per a lawsuit viewed by The News.

“In an obvious money grab, all these years later, Dixon claims that he should have been paid more,” reads the filing, dismissing Dixon’s accusations as “a calculated campaign to shatter Cartagena’s reputation and extort him into surrendering to Dixon’s outrageous financial demands.”

The filing also cites Judges Denise Cote and J. Paul Oetken’s own misgivings about Blackburn, with the former allegedly saying he “improperly files cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly.”

In addition to some of Dixon’s allegations bearing a striking resemblance to those against Combs, Blackburn is representing Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who accused the Harlem-born mogul, 55, of sexual harassment, drugging and threats.