Kimora Lee Simmons Faces Legal Trouble Over Alleged Fraud, Forgery & Property Disputes

Kimora Lee Simmons is in a contentious legal battle with her ex husband Russell, but she also has a lot of other items on the docket. Moreover, she faces various legal actions for alleged fraud, forgery, and property disputes according to court documents reportedly obtained by Baller Alert. Specifically, the model, entrepreneur, and former Baby Phat CEO has to contend with her ownership discrepancy of a Beverly Hills mansion, which she occupies. Her company Keyway Pride Limited LLC contested an alleged sale agreement from her husband, former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, whom law enforcement hit with charges for his alleged involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

Furthermore, Leissner reportedly used a company called 25 Beverly Park Circle PropCo LLC. Keyway Pride claims ownership of the luxury mansion in Beverly Hills and claims he attempted to sell the mansion in 2020 while lacking the permission to do so. In addition, Kimora Lee Simmons’ company’s legal team alleged her husband engaged in “clear forgery” with the operating agreement he used. However, the legal battles and Tim Leissner’s alleged involvement don’t stop there, thanks to some allegations from Kimora Lee’s estranged ex husband.

Russell Simmons questioned her alleged involvement in some of Leissner’s big transactions and financial moves. Mainly, his concerns center around a stock purchase agreement (SPA) from 2018 that resulted in Kimora Lee Simmons reportedly acquiring almost four million shares in Celsius Holdings, Inc. Per the embattled music executive’s claims, this SPA – signed between Kimora Lee and Tim Leissner following his 2018 arrest – is not a transparent arm’s-length financial exchange. Via reported court documents, Russell alleges that this transaction could be void since it’s unknown whether the company whose shares this exchange occurred for (All Def Media LLC) even legally exists.

Finally, Kimora Lee Simmons claims she solely manages Keyway Pride, but her ex husband and the company’s own filings posit that their operating agreement doesn’t provide complete authority, without need for joint decision-making, to any one manager. Russell Simmons’ legal team additionally argues that even a legitimate agreement would still require Kimora Lee to make significant transaction decisions in conjunction with Tim Leissner, and thus puts her at risk of voided actions if she does not take those actions in a way that ensures this mutual consent. A trial over these issues will reportedly begin in January of 2026, per its scheduled start time at press time.

About The Author

Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022.

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case.

Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.