(Jamaica Observer) Buju Banton’s failure last week to have an appellate court in the United States overturn his 2011 drug conviction and 10-year prison sentence has resurrected speculation that there may be an effort to go after the Grammy-winning reggae artiste’s assets.
But on Sunday, Buju’s lead attorney David Oscar Markus sought to lay to rest the speculations that the US Government may try to seize the artiste’s assets.
“There is absolutely no way that the Government can go after Buju’s remaining assets. The government never alleged that Buju made any money off of this drug deal,” Markus told the Jamaica Observer.
“The government has never attempted to go after his assets, nor could they. This really is a non-issue,” said the attorney. “Buju is a Grammy-award winning musician who has worked hard for what he has.”
Last Thursday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta Georgia dismissed Buju’s appeal against his cocaine, conspiracy and trafficking charges conviction. The court, in the process, said it agreed with the artiste’s gun conviction that was dismissed by the trial judge last year February.
A day after the appellate court’s ruling, Markus told the Observer that within 30 days he would be filing a motion seeking a new trial.
Buju, whose real name is Mark Myrie, was first tried in September of 2010 but the matter ended with a hung jury. That led to the second trial in which the reggae star was convicted.