ATLANTA — Defense attorneys in the high-profile sex trafficking trial against Atlanta rapper John Michael Gibson, known as “Ca$h Out,” are pushing back on the state’s claims that the case qualifies as a RICO prosecution.
During closing arguments Wednesday morning, Gibson’s legal team told jurors that over the course of the seven-week trial, the state failed to provide evidence that Gibson operated a criminal enterprise using his music label to coerce women into prostitution.
“There was no conspiracy to do RICO. There was no clear criminal enterprise,” attorney Careton Matthews said.
Matthews, along with separate attorneys representing Gibson’s mother, Linda Smith, and his cousin, Tyrone Taylor, accused the state of overcharging the defendants.
“The only enterprise that she was a part of is her son’s music career,” attorney Eufemia Cabera-d’Amour told jurors.
The defense also cast doubt on the credibility of the alleged victims.
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Matthews challenged the testimony of four women who said they were trafficked by Gibson, claiming one woman misidentified him and was under the influence of drugs at the time.
“Look at who she picked out. This is not John Gibson, and Gibson was among those photos,” Matthews argued.
He also discredited another woman’s claims that she was beaten with a belt, pointing out a lack of medical evidence.
“No lacerations, no stitches, no fractures, no medical treatment,” Matthews said.
Over the course of the trial, jurors have seen evidence including an undercover prostitution sting that led to Gibson’s arrest, testimony that he and his mother tried to intimidate a witness, and multiple allegations of women being forced into sex work.
But Cabera-d’Amour argued Smith had no connection to any of the alleged victims.
“If these two never met, how does Ms. Smith aid and abet, counsel and command a position in prostitution?” she asked.
The prosecution is expected to deliver its closing arguments Thursday before the case is handed to the jury for deliberation.
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