Tupac’s Sister Sues Trustee for Embezzling Millions From Mother’s Estate

According to a lawsuit filed this week in Los Angeles, the sister of slain hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur is suing the executor of his estate as she accuses him of embezzling millions of dollars from the family.

Billboard is reporting that Sekyiwa Shakur, the daughter of Afeni Shakur and brother of Tupac, has sued the executor of the deceased rapper’s estate, accusing him of embezzling millions of dollars. Shakur and the Tupac Shakur Foundation accuse Tom Whalley, who has been the executor of the estate since Afeni died in 2016, of improperly lifting $5.5 million over the past five years from Afeni’s record label, Amaru Entertainment.

The record label was formed by Afeni and is responsible for the business dealings associated with the recorded works of Tupac and his posthumous albums.

Sekyima claims Whalley refused to give back personal items that belonged to the “California Love” rapper that have “tremendous sentimental value” including several gold records, vehicles, jewelry, and artwork.

“He has effectively embezzled millions of dollars for his own benefit,” Sekyiwa stated in the lawsuit.

“Whalley has unreasonably enriched himself at the expense of the beneficiaries and in bad faith by taking excessive compensation in a position from which he should properly be barred based on the inherent conflict of interest.”

In response to the lawsuit, in a written statement to Rolling Stone, Whalley’s lawyer, Howard King, denied the accusations levied by Sekyiwa.

“Tom Whalley was a friend and confidant of Tupac and his mother, Afeni Shakur, since signing Tupac to his first major recording deal in the Nineties and helping to arrange the funds to bail Tupac out of jail,” King said. “After Tupac passed away, Afeni requested Tom’s help with the job of managing the Tupac assets Afeni had inherited, a task he performed, without charge, for many years.”

With the record label, Amaru has “gone from virtually insolvent” to a company bringing in solid money, he didn’t take any trustee’s fee, even with the increased workload that came with overseeing Amaru.

“These legal claims are disappointing and detrimental to all beneficiaries of the trust. We are confident the Court will promptly conclude that Tom has always acted in the best interests of Amaru, the trust, and all beneficiaries.”