Rapper Gucci Mane was the victim of a kidnapping and robbery plot by a rapper signed to Mane's label earlier this year, the Department of Justice alleged in a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.
Lontrell Williams Jr., known by the stage name Pooh Shiesty, allegedly asked to meet with Mane, whose legal name is Radric Davis, in Dallas on Jan. 10 to discuss his contract with Mane's label 1017, according to the criminal complaint filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Williams was "upset with the terms of his contract" and wanted to be released, the complaint said. They met that afternoon at a music studio inside an office building.
Williams was wearing an ankle monitor because he was on home confinement for a prior firearms conspiracy conviction out of Florida, the complaint said. While inside the studio, Williams allegedly learned on a phone call that his case manager had not given him permission to be out and had to return home immediately.
Mane offered to reschedule, but Williams allegedly asked to speak to him in an attached recording room. According to the complaint, Mane agreed and was inside the room with Williams, Williams' father and another artist.
An argument occurred inside the studio, and Williams told the other artist to bring him his bag, the complaint said.
He "pulled what appeared to be a black AK-style pistol from the bag" and pointed it at Mane, demanding that Mane sign the papers to release him from his contract, officials alleged. Mane signed the paperwork while Williams' father and the other artist stood by, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors allege that after they left, six others from their group armed themselves and demanded "property" from other individuals in the room, who were referred to by initials.
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One individual, identified as "M.M.," had a Rolex watch, wallet, Apple Airpods and a Louis Vuitton bag with other watches stolen, the complaint said. He was "choked from behind to the point of nearly losing consciousness," according to the complaint.
The victims were barred from leaving as one of the men involved allegedly barricaded them, according to the DOJ. The victims believed "they were going to be executed," the complaint said.
Williams, his father and seven others left in vehicles that were later identified in surveillance videos from a neighboring building, according to the complaint. One of the vehicles was a 2020 Dodge Charger Hellcat registered to his father and two rental cars that were rented to Williams' father at the time.
Williams, his father and six others were arrested Wednesday in Dallas and Memphis, Tennessee, according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Northern District of Texas. They are facing federal charges in relation to kidnapping and robbery at gunpoint.
They each face a potential sentence of life in prison if convicted.
Ryan Raybould, the U.S. Attorney for the district, described them as having "resorted to violence and intimidation to achieve their purported business objectives."
Neither representatives for Mane nor Williams immediately responded to a request for comment from NBC News on Thursday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said that the electronic monitoring device worn by Williams at the time of the alleged kidnapping and robbery placed him at the incident's location at the time as well as surveillance footage. Social media posts from the suspects also showed the allegedly stolen items after the incident occurred, the prosecutor's office said.