Chris Brown is personally on the hook for more than a million dollars after skipping out on making payments on a loan used to open two Popeyes Chicken franchises.
The R&B musician and his fellow investors (including producer The-Dream) were sued by City National Bank (CNB) in September 2023 after defaulting on a 2018 loan provided by the institution to finance a pair of Popeyes locations.
CNB attempted to collect on the loan, claiming in documents obtained by The Blast at the time that “as of Feb. 17, 2023, Borrower and Guarantors owe $2,140,901.74 in unpaid principal and interest,” and that Brown was “a personal guarantor” of the loan, leaving him responsible.
Courts in Georgia where the lawsuit was originally filed ruled in favor of the bank in August 2023, and CNB then filed a case in California to collect their funds.
On Feb. 27, the Los Angeles court confirmed a sister-state judgment filed by City National Bank and ordered Brown to personally pay $1,314,367.40, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Now Brown, 34, must respond to the new ruling within 30 days of its filing — or City National Bank can work with California to collect the debt and potentially seize assets, including property and money, from the singer.
Reps for Brown did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The Popeyes ordeal is not Brown’s only ongoing legal matter. In October 2023, Abe Diaw sued the “Forever” singer for allegedly hitting him in the face with a bottle of Don Julio 1942 tequila in February of the same year at TAPE in London.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by PEOPLE at the time, Brown was “beating” Diaw in the head with “crushing blows” and knocked him unconscious. Then, Brown allegedly “continued to ruthlessly stomp” on him for “30 seconds.”
Diaw, who was 43 at the time, “ended up in the hospital with lacerations on his head and torn ligaments in his leg,” the lawsuit stated, adding that it left with him “permanent” damage and “severe emotional distress.”
Diaw, who claims that TAPE caught the altercation on surveillance footage, is suing Brown for damages and demanding a trial by jury, per the lawsuit.
Brown has a long history of legal trouble, beginning in 2009 when he physically assaulted then-girlfriend Rihanna. Rihanna was left with visible facial injuries and was hospitalized; Brown was subsequently charged with felony assault and making criminal threats.
He pleaded guilty to a felony in June of that year and accepted a plea deal of community labor, five years’ probation and domestic violence counseling.
Most recently, in May 2023, several outlets reported that Brown and Usher got into a fight one day before they took the stage at Lovers & Friends music festival in Las Vegas.
This week, Brown announced dates for his upcoming 11:11 Tour, set for 26 dates throughout North America with opening acts Ayra Starr and Muni Long.
