- Flo Rida has been accused of skipping out on paying for his disabled son's education and insurance.
- Alexis Adams, the mother of Flo Rida's child, alleged to Insider that she is owed over $200k from him.
After rapper Flo Rida secured an $82 million win in a breach of contract lawsuit against energy drink company Celsius, the mother of Flo Rida's son has accused the rapper of skipping crucial child support payments for the disabled child.
On Wednesday, a jury awarded the "Get Low" rapper, born Tramar Lacell Dillard, a lucrative victory after he alleged Celsius cheated him out of key stock options in endorsement deals. But in the lead-up to the January trial, Alexis Adams, who has full custody of the 6-year-old child, alleged that the rapper has avoided paying for the child's tuition and health insurance for years and even asked to pay less child support before the bombshell Celsius verdict.
A rep for Dillard and his lawyer in the custody case did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
According to court documents reviewed by Insider, Dillard and Adams have had a court-ordered child support agreement for their son Zohar since at least 2018. Through the agreement, Dillard has been required by a Bronx County Family Court to pay Adams $9,000 a month for child support, as well as the full cost of Zohar's education and health insurance, per court filings.
"Tramar winning $82.6 million didn't surprise me," Adams told Insider. Him complying "with our child support order by reinstating Zohar's health insurance and being a real family man and father to our son would actually impress me," she said.
Leading up to the Celsius trial, Dillard sought to lessen his child support
At a hearing in 2018, Judge Shira Atzmon ordered Dillard's child support payments to increase from $8,000 to $9,000 a month, a move which his team contested, according to Bossip.
"What does he care?" Judge Shira Atzmon told Dillard's lawyer during the hearing, per Bossip. "He's not involved in this child's life. He's met him once. This is all about money, and I've had it up to here."
In 2021, Adams eventually filed a violation petition, asking the court to seek Dillard's testimony about unpaid fees and take appropriate action.
Recent court documents showed that in November 2022, a lawyer for Dillard argued against the judge's orders to pay for education, saying he couldn't afford it.
By December 2022, Dillard's team had asked the court to reduce his monthly child support payment.
A judge will need to determine whether Dillard has been skipping out on education payments and whether he owes expenses for Zohar, though a hearing date has not been set yet. If Dillard is found to have willfully violated the child support order, he could be asked to pay unpaid costs or be found in contempt of court and jailed.
The mother of Dillard's child claims he has not paid over $200,000 of their son's tuition
Adams told Insider that Dillard has not paid any tuition for Zohar, despite being ordered to by the court. According to court documents, she has an unpaid tuition balance of over $200,000 with the school that she cannot afford.
Zohar was born with ventriculomegaly, a brain condition which can lead to neurological and learning disabilities. In 2019, Adams enrolled Zohar in a private Manhattan school for students with neurological disabilities. He has also been diagnosed with autism and has required additional therapy, Adams said.
Dillard "has failed to pay the monthly premium for Zohar's health insurance," Adams said in an August 2021 affidavit. And for all of 2020, he "failed to pay me $6,616.68 for health insurance premium costs," Adams alleged, adding that she was forced to pay out of pocket.
An insurance document reviewed by Insider showed that Zohar's insurance was cut off in March 2020, after Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield did not receive premium payments.
Lisa Zeiderman, a partner at Miller Zeiderman LLP and expert in New York family law, told Insider that the Celsius verdict could ultimately impact Adams' child custody case with Dillard.
"It strongly weakens his downward modification application, and it may in fact strengthen her upward modification request," Zeiderman said. "If all of a sudden someone is coming into $82 million, that is what we call a substantial change in circumstances from whatever his income was before."
After the Celsius verdict was delivered, Dillard posed in front of a Brinks truck, sharing an Instagram reel showing him in court flanked by his legal staff, taking selfies with courthouse fans and promoting the drink company he had just sued.
"People really did fall in love with him because he's such a decent human being," John Uustal, his lawyer for the Celsius case told Insider after the energy drink verdict.
But Adams told Insider that the image he portrayed ahead of and throughout the trial did not match the neglect she claimed that she and Zohar have experienced.
"Tramar Lacel Dillard is acting under false pretense," Adams said. "I'm already prepared for him to skillfully deflect responsibility."