Jussie Smollett – Chicago Will Sue Him After He Refuses To Reimburse City $130K For Investigation

Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett – Chicago Will Sue Him After He Refuses To Reimburse City $130K For Investigation

Jussie Smollett is reportedly set to be sued by the City of Chicago. The Empire actor has refused to pay the $130,000 the city said he owes after it launched an investigation surrounding his alleged attack.

Back in January, Smollett filed a police report that said he was verbally and physically assaulted by two men, who he implied were supporters of President Donald Trump. He said they hurled homophobic and racial insults at him while physically attacking him.

Donald Trump

It later came out that the attackers were actually two brothers,  and Abimbola Osundairo, who have ties to Smollett and FOX’s Empire. 

After a thorough investigation, the Chicago Police Department came to the conclusion that Smollett allegedly staged the incident because he was unhappy with his Empire salary. He faced 16 felony charges, but they were all dropped recently.

Still, the city isn’t backing down and its mayor, Rahm Emanuel, revealed they would require Smollett to pay back the city $130,000 in the overtime officers had to work to solve his case.

Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel

The deadline has passed and a representative for the city has commented, stating:

“Mr. Smollett has refused to reimburse the City of Chicago for the cost of police overtime spent investigating his false report on January 29, 2019. The Law Department is now drafting a civil complaint that will be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Once it is filed, the Law Department will send a courtesy copy of the complaint to Mr. Smollett’s L.A. based legal team.”

Based on a previous letter the city sent Smollett, they can sue for more than $390,000 (three times the original $130,000) in addition to legal fees and court costs, since he refused to pay the amount.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t look like the city’s tactics are bothering Smollett at all. Before the city threatened a lawsuit, his attorney, Mark Geragos, said in a letter obtained by the Chicago Tribune, 

“In light of their apparent vested interest int he matter, we are confident that Mayor Emanuel and [Chicago police] Superintendent [Eddie] Johnson will not object to providing their testimony under oath. Mr. Smollett’s preference remains, however, that this matter be closed and that he be allowed to move on with his life. [Smollett] will not be intimidated into paying the demanded sum. Mr. Smollett vehemently denies making any false statements. Your claim that Smollett filed a police report and orchestrated his own attack is false and defamatory.”

The letter continued and said that if the city does sue, Smollett’s legal team wants to see every piece of evidence from the case, even the portions that wasn’t given tot he defense prior to the charges being dropped.

Only time will tell if the city will move forward with its lawsuit, and how Smollett will respond.

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