It looks like Kanye West’s “celebrity status” is being used against him.
According to The Blast, a Japanese fabric supplier, Toki Sen-I Co., is suing the rapper and fashion designer for using his status to defraud workers for his apparel line.
Court documents obtained by the site say that the fashion company is responding to West’s effort to dismiss their lawsuit for an unpaid bill of $624,000, after accusing him of defrauding workers described as “hardworking” and innocent.”
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Toki Sen-I Co. initially sued West for snubbing them from money for material and work for his sneaker line, but West is now saying that he didn’t do anything wrong. According to Yeezus the material was never delivered, which justifies why they company didn’t receive payments and why the case should be thrown away.
The company is refuting the claim by saying that West shouldn’t use people because he is a celebrity. They say he’s using is status as a “tool fraudulently deceive them” for their work, and not paying them for it.
The company also assumes that he may have used his status to swindle other company’s in the past saying, “Even more worrisome, Defendants might use its celebrity status to deceive other fabric manufactures in the future.”
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Now, the company wants the case to continue, and they also are filing for punitive damages to “punish the wealthy Defendants for their fraudulent and malicious behavior and to set an example to deter the Defendants and similar celebrity brands from using their status to defraud hardworking, innocent, and unexpecting vendors such as the Plaintiff.”
When the company first started working with West and his shoe line in 2015, to deliver samples, they said the partnership between the two was working out well and they received payments.
Unfortunately in June 2018, West placed a large order for fleece fabric material and they started producing the items. They initially wanted a down payment for their work, but West never paid the money, but they didn’t think it’d be an issue based off of their positive experience in the past.
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Toki Sen-I Co. said that soon after, Kanye informed him that he would not pay for the fabric. They have since requested the money and have even offered payment plans, but there has been no success.
Without capital assets or member interest, the company is also labeling his line as a “shell” and a “sham.”