The news have surfaced of US artiste, Akon, who has been accused by his former business partner of planning to run his city like a Ponzi scheme.
In January 2020, we reported that his announcement of his new city, Akon City. This city, he explained, would sit on a 2,000-acre land, a gift to him by the President of Senegal, Macky Sall. The city, he said, was going to have its own digital cash currency called AKoin.In 2021, he laid the first stone of the $6 billion futuristic city, but nothing was reportedly done on the site. Now, according to his business partner, Akon wants to use this city as a ‘Ponzi scheme.’ Contained in the legal documents filed by Devyne Stephens, a music executive, is the request for the court to freeze the singer’s assets in New York until a judgment is reached. Stephens filed a $4 million lawsuit in 2021. This freeze will also ensure he receives his money, including royalties.
Stephens’s lawyer, Jeffrey Movit, describing Akon’s proposed city as ‘broken promises,’ said that ‘almost no transparency about who is investing in Akon City or how it will be purportedly built. Therefore, Akon City is likely a scam According to retired federal Special Agent Scot Thomasson who conducted an investigation into the city, Akon City contains ‘many of the trademark characteristics (known as ‘red flags’) of fraudulent business ventures such as Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes. Meanwhile, a rep from Akon’s team responding to this noted, ’They are nothing but innuendo and speculation, made by someone who had a claim against Akon dismissed.
