Capucine Jackson, the widow of Johnny Lee Jackson, a musician and producer who worked with Tupac Shakur on over 100 songs, including many of his best known hits, including "How Do U Want It," "All About You," "Hit 'Em Up" and "All Eyez On Me," has added a fraud claim to her existing lawsuit, which seeks royalties that she alleges Amaru Entertainment Inc., the company formed by the late rapper's mother, Afeni Shakur, is refusing to pay under a contract.
Jackson is now seeking punitive damages, as well as at least $500,000 in compensatory damages in her breach-of-contract against Amaru Entertainment Inc.
In an amended complaint brought Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the plaintiff alleges Amaru Entertainment intentionally failed to disclose certain facts in the SoundExchange royalty statements that only Amaru knew about and that the plaintiff was unable to discover on her own.
"[The] defendant intended to deceive [the] plaintiff by concealing the existence and contents of the SoundExchange royalty statements," the amended suit states.
SoundExchange is a nonprofit performing rights organization formed in 2003 that collects digital performance royalties from digital radio companies when they license and use master recordings. It then distributes the royalties to artists and copyright owners who obtain letters of direction from the featured artists or their representatives.