Atlanta rapper Ca$hout, born John Michael Gibson, has officially been sentenced to life in prison plus 70 years following his conviction on a series of serious charges including rape, RICO, sex trafficking, and aggravated sexual battery.
The verdict was handed down Friday in Fulton County, with Judge Henry Newkirk ordering the life sentence on the rape conviction and an additional 70 years for the remaining counts. The sentences will run concurrently.
Ca$hout saw brief success in the early 2010s, most notably with his breakout single “Cashin’ Out,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Rap Airplay chart in 2012. He followed that up with “She Twerkin” in 2014, off his debut and only studio album Let’s Get It. Despite his fame, prosecutors argued that Gibson used his platform to manipulate and exploit women for personal and financial gain.
Also sentenced in connection with the case were his mother, Linda Smith, who received 30 years, and his cousin Tyrone Taylor, who was handed the same sentence as Ca$hout—life plus 70 years. All were convicted under Georgia’s RICO statute, with the charges stemming from a sex trafficking operation that prosecutors said ran for over seven years.
Evidence presented during the two-month trial included thousands of text messages across eight different phones, painting a picture of long-term coercion and abuse. Prosecutors accused Gibson of using his status to control and traffic women, while his legal team insisted the witnesses had been pressured to testify.
“This has been going on for seven years,” said lead prosecutor Earnell Winfrey. “This ain’t just straight pimping—this is trafficking.”
The case marks a grim fall from grace for the former chart-topper, whose crimes far outshadowed his music career.