Akon's ex-Associate Says Akon City Is a Ponzi Scam

In 2018, Akon announced his intention to build a "Wakanda-inspired" city in his home country of Senegal.

It would humbly be called Akon City.

Last year, he closed a $6 billion deal to build the city.

But all that glitters might not be gold.

Akon's ex-business partner Devyne Stephens, a music exec who’s worked with Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child, and Usher, is suing Akon for $4 million for not paying him for his services.

Stephens wants to New York judge to freeze Akon's assets so he can get paid, citing Akon's history of shady business practices.

In the filings, Stephens' legal team argued that both Akon City and Akon's cryptocurrency project, Akoin, are scams.

Stephen's lawyer Jeffrey Movit had retired federal Special Agent Scot Thomasson look into Akon's businesses and Thomasson didn't like what he found.

According to Thomasson, "Akon City and Akoin show many of the trademark characteristics (known as ‘red flags’) of fraudulent business ventures such as Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes."

The Akon City plans “are broken promises,” Movit argued.

“Akon has provided almost no transparency about who is investing in Akon City or how it will be purportedly built. Therefore, Akon City is likely a scam,” Movit wrote, citing Thomasson’s affidavit.