Hip-hop producer Jamal “Mally Mall” Rashid was sentenced Thursday to 33 months in prison for operating a high-end prostitution service based out of Las Vegas.
The 45-year-old Rashid ran the sex services ring with women he dubbed “Priority Girls,” pimping them out between 2002 to 2014 and charging clients between $1,000 to $10,000 per date, federal prosecutors said.
In most cases, women working for Rashid only received a small fraction, usually $100, of a date’s proceeds and he kept tight control of their activities, according to authorities.
“After a woman became a Priority Girl, she quickly learned that defendant expected her to follow many rules,” according to a sentencing memo by Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou.
“For example, defendant required Priority Girls to text him when they went anywhere, they were not allowed to date anyone, and defendant encouraged them to get Rashid related tattoos to demonstrate their loyalty to him.”
Rashid had already pleaded guilty in October 2019 to one count of use of an interstate facility in aid of unlawful activity.
“Jamal accepted full responsibility for his conduct that occurred almost a decade ago,” defense attorney Richard Schonfeld said. “He will serve his sentence and looks forward to returning to the music industry.”
U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro also sentenced Rashid to three years of supervised release once he’s out of prison.
Steven Sadow, another attorney for Rashid, pledged that his client would “turn his life around” while in custody.
“Jamal long ago accepted responsibility for his actions in this case and has worked hard to turn his life around,” Sadow said. “He always recognized that his punishment would likely include substantial time in federal custody, but looks forward to his release and successful return to the music business.”
Rashid has worked with artists such as Tyga, Justin Bieber, Usher and Sean Kingston. He was also included in the VH1 series “Love & Hip Hop Hollywood.”
Rashid has until Aug. 13 to surrender to federal authorities and begin his prison sentence.
The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
