A Lil Durk lawsuit for $12 million in fraud damages, brought by fintech company Exceed Talent Capital over the song “Bedtime,” was dismissed with prejudice in November 2025. Two other civil suits against the Chicago rapper, born Durk Devontay Banks, are still open: wrongful-death actions filed by the mothers of Saviay’a Robinson and Carlton “FBG Duck” Weekly. Overshadowing all of it is a federal criminal case in Los Angeles, where Durk has been in custody since October 2024 awaiting an August 2026 trial on murder-for-hire and racketeering charges.
The Exceed Talent Capital Fraud Suit Was Dismissed
Exceed Talent Capital sued Durk in the Southern District of New York in December 2023, seeking more than $12 million. The complaint named Durk, his then-business manager Andrew Bonsu, and three corporate entities: Only The Family Entertainment, Inc., OTF Label, and TTPMG, LLC.1Findlaw. Exceed Talent Capital LLC v. Banks et al.
The dispute centered on an August 2022 “Music Revenue Rights Agreement” under which Exceed paid $600,000 for 100 percent of the revenues from Durk’s song “Bedtime” in perpetuity. After paying $450,000 in two installments, Exceed received a May 2023 demand letter from Alamo Records asserting that Durk had been under an exclusive recording agreement with the Sony-affiliated label since April 2021, meaning no one on Durk’s side had authority to sell those rights. Exceed had planned to offer fractional shares in the royalties to investors through a product called the “Trenches All-Access Pass” and said it had to cancel the offering and refund investors at a cost in the millions.1Findlaw. Exceed Talent Capital LLC v. Banks et al.2Billboard. Lil Durk Sued Over Song Rights by Fintech Company3Digital Music News. Lil Durk Lawsuit Exceed Talent Capital
The court initially recommended dismissing the fraud claim without prejudice in January 2025, giving Exceed a chance to amend and add the specificity federal rules require.1Findlaw. Exceed Talent Capital LLC v. Banks et al. Exceed never successfully refiled. In November 2025, a judge dismissed the entire case with prejudice, ending it permanently. Both sides waived their rights to appeal or to recover legal fees.4Complex. Lil Durk Exceed Talent Capital Lawsuit Dropped
Wrongful-Death Suit Over Saviay’a Robinson
In February 2025, Andrea Laquila Robinson filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Cook County, Illinois, over the August 19, 2022, killing of her 24-year-old son Saviay’a Robinson in West Hollywood. The suit names Durk, his business manager, Only the Family, and a related company as defendants. It alleges Durk orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot and describes OTF as a violent criminal enterprise whose members carried out “murder and assault” at his direction.5Chicago Sun-Times. Lil Durk Wrongful Death Lawsuit Murder-for-Hire Scheme
As of the most recent reporting, no rulings or settlements had been entered, and an attorney for Durk had not publicly responded.6XXL. Lil Durk Mounting Legal Issues
Wrongful-Death Suit Over FBG Duck
A separate wrongful-death action was filed in October 2024 in Cook County Circuit Court by LaSheena Weekly, mother of rapper Carlton “FBG Duck” Weekly, who was shot 16 times in a daylight attack on Chicago’s Oak Street on August 4, 2020. The complaint names Durk, King Von’s estate, OTF, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Alamo Records, and Empire Distribution, along with the City of Chicago and several security firms.7Yahoo Entertainment. FBG Duck Murder Case Lil Durk Lawsuit
The suit accuses the labels of knowingly signing artists with gang affiliations and amplifying violent content to drive streams and sales, which the plaintiff’s attorney called a “dangerous defective product.” It also alleges FBG Duck lay on the sidewalk for roughly 17 minutes without medical treatment.7Yahoo Entertainment. FBG Duck Murder Case Lil Durk Lawsuit8ABC7 Chicago. FBG Duck Death Verdict O Block Street Gang Chicago Shooting9Chicago Sun-Times. FBG Duck King Von Lil Durk O Block Trial
In January 2026, a judge allowed the civil case to proceed, letting the claims against Durk and the record labels survive early challenges. The case remained active as of that ruling.10HotNewHipHop. FBG Ducks Mom Doubles Down on Lawsuit Against Lil Durk
The Federal Murder-for-Hire and Racketeering Case
Federal agents arrested Durk in Broward County, Florida, on October 25, 2024. The charges arise from the same shooting at the center of the Robinson family’s civil suit: Saviay’a Robinson was killed when gunmen fired at least 18 rounds into a Cadillac Escalade near a West Hollywood gas station. Robinson was riding with his cousin, rapper Quando Rondo (Tyquian Bowman), who was the alleged target and was unharmed.11The Guardian. Lil Durk Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot12Savannah Morning News. Savannah Rapper Quando Rondo Cousin Saviaya Robinson Killed in Los Angeles
Prosecutors allege the attack was retaliation for the November 2020 killing of Durk’s close friend and OTF affiliate Dayvon “King Von” Bennett, and that Durk placed a bounty on Quando Rondo and financed the effort to locate and kill him, with OTF-linked credit cards used to book flights and hotel rooms. Five co-defendants were charged alongside him: Kavon London Grant, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, Keith Jones, David Brian Lindsey, and Asa Houston. All six pleaded not guilty.13Billboard. Lil Durk Ordered Quando Rondo Murder, Planned to Flee Country, Feds Allege14Forbes. Lil Durks Murder for Hire Trial Pushed Back
The Expanded Racketeering Indictment
On June 3, 2026, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles returned a third superseding indictment adding murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit stalking. It frames the conduct as part of a criminal enterprise prosecutors call the “Banks Gang Enterprise,” which they allege operated alongside the OTF music collective and “carried out acts of violence, including murder, to protect his power and retaliate against rivals.”15LA Mag. Feds Officially Turn Up Heat on Lil Durk With Bombshell New Charges16Rolling Stone. Lil Durk Murder for Hire Trial Racketeering Count
The expanded indictment folds in two more incidents:
- A February 2019 shooting near The Varsity restaurant in Atlanta that wounded an unidentified person.
- The January 2022 murder of 24-year-old Stephon Mack outside a youth center in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood, which prosecutors allege Durk incentivized with a monetary reward as retaliation for the June 2021 murder of his brother, Dontay “DThang” Banks Jr.
Prosecutors have pointed to text messages allegedly sent by Durk, including “I can’t let this slide” and a reference to King Von’s death: “[D.B.] dying turning me into a different animal.” Durk has not been separately charged in the Mack killing.16Rolling Stone. Lil Durk Murder for Hire Trial Racketeering Count17USA Today. Lil Durk Linked to Stephon Mack Murder
Lyrics Admitted at Trial
In February 2026, Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald ruled that lyrics from two of Durk’s songs may be presented to the jury: “Who Want Smoke??” featuring Nardo Wick, and “Ahhh Ha.” The judge found them relevant to the prosecution’s retaliation theory and more probative than prejudicial. Lyrics from “Beverly Hills” were excluded, and references to “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy” were removed from the indictment after the defense showed the song was written months before the Robinson shooting.18Billboard. Lil Durk Trial Song Lyrics Jury May Hear in Court
Detention, Trial Date, and Possible Sentence
Durk has been held without bail since his arrest. U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue denied release in December 2024, finding that “there is no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of the community” and noting allegations that Durk exercised “a significant amount of control over others” rather than personally committing the violence.19Rolling Stone. Lil Durk Chicago Murder Hearing A second bail attempt was denied in May 2025, with the judge citing Durk’s “disrespect for the rules” on jail phone policies, including three-way calls and using other inmates’ accounts.20Legal Affairs and Trials. Judge Rejects Lil Durks New Bail
A request by co-defendants Wilson, Houston, and Lindsey to be tried separately was denied in February 2026.21Billboard. Lil Durk Murder for Hire Trial Postponed Again After multiple postponements, the joint trial is now set to begin August 20, 2026, before Judge Fitzgerald in the Central District of California. Durk’s defense team has called the expanded indictment “lipstick on a pig” and a “scrambling prosecutor’s back-up plan.”22LA Mag. Lil Durk Hit With New Racketeering Murder Charge If convicted on the most serious charges, Durk faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.14Forbes. Lil Durks Murder for Hire Trial Pushed Back
The 2019 Atlanta Charges Were Dropped But Have Resurfaced
Durk turned himself in to Fulton County Jail in May 2019 over a January 2019 shooting near The Varsity restaurant in downtown Atlanta that left one person wounded. He faced charges including criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault, participation in criminal street gang activity, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His attorney, Manny Arora, said Durk was present but did not participate.23Fox 5 Atlanta. Charges Dropped Against Chicago Rapper Lil Durk in 2019 Shooting Near the Varsity
In October 2022, the Fulton County District Attorney dropped all charges, stating in the filing that “although probable cause existed for the defendant’s arrest, the decision at this time is not to prosecute.” Durk had never been indicted during the three years the case was open.24Vibe. Lil Durk King Von 2019 Charges Dropped The dismissal does not end that incident’s legal relevance: the June 2026 federal superseding indictment incorporates the Atlanta shooting as part of the racketeering theory.16Rolling Stone. Lil Durk Murder for Hire Trial Racketeering Count