Fat Joe’s legal battle with attorney Tyrone Blackburn took a dramatic turn today as the rapper’s legal team confirmed Blackburn has been arrested for second-degree assault, a felony, after allegedly hitting a process server with his car.
The incident stems from an April 2025 lawsuit filed by Fat Joe, whose legal name is Joseph Cartagena, against Blackburn and the rapper’s former hype man, Dixon. The suit accuses both men of extortion, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. According to Cartagena’s attorneys, Blackburn attempted to evade being served legal papers by striking the process server with his vehicle. Despite the assault, the server successfully completed the delivery of the documents.
The original lawsuit centers around a March 2025 demand letter sent by Blackburn and Dixon, in which they claimed Dixon was a ghostwriter and uncredited vocalist for several of Cartagena’s songs. When Cartagena dismissed the claims, a second letter followed, threatening to file a lawsuit containing inflammatory and unsubstantiated accusations, including statutory rape and sex trafficking.
On the same day a warrant was issued for Blackburn’s arrest, he and Dixon filed a countersuit against Cartagena, which the rapper’s team described as a retaliatory move designed to smear his public image.
“Tyrone Blackburn’s arrest comes as no surprise to me – it’s just the latest example of his malicious and manipulative pattern of misconduct finally coming to light,” Fat Joe’s lawyer Joe Tacopinasaid. “Blackburn is an embarrassment to the legal profession and it’s a disgrace watching him use the court system to shield his extortion tactics. This is exactly why Mr. Cartagena proactively sued Blackburn and his client Terrance Dixon in April because he knew they intended to try to destroy his reputation by peddling salacious lies. Today’s arrest is just the first step, but I’m confident that my client’s name will be cleared from all of these falsehoods and Blackburn will be brought to justice once and for all.”
Blackburn’s professional conduct has already drawn scrutiny from the judiciary. In April 2024, Judge Denise Cote referred him to a grievance committee, criticizing him for filing salacious cases to gain media attention. In March 2025, Judge J. Paul Oetken issued a separate rebuke, accusing Blackburn of inaccuracies and misconduct in court filings.
The legal proceedings continue as Fat Joe seeks to hold Blackburn and Dixon accountable for what his attorneys call a calculated and malicious campaign.