Jay-Z is leaving accounting firm BDO amid fraud allegations

Accounting firm BDO lost celebrity clients including Jay-Z and Megan Thee Stallion after fraud allegations were made against customer accounts.

A report from the Financial Times confirms that Jay-Z and Megan Thee Stallion are among the celebrities who have cut ties with accounting firm BDO's Miami operation following allegations in 2022 that an employee stole money from client accounts. The company manages personal and business finances on behalf of celebrities and other high-net-worth clients. Services range from paying bills to filing taxes.

According to the report, Jay-Z's departure is due to dissatisfaction with the way BDO handled fraud allegations in 2022, in which an employee stole funds from rapper Fat Joe and the partners did not identify discrepancies in his financial records at the time had determined. The employee, named Vanessa Rodriguez, allegedly used credit cards and bank accounts belonging to Fat Joe, his wife and his companies to withdraw thousands of dollars in cash.

Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, claimed BDO's management of his affairs was “so chaotic” that his mortgage payments were often late. In addition, it was impossible to reconcile different accounts, and it appeared that his credit card bills were sometimes paid from accounts belonging to other prominent customers, such as Major League Baseball players.

Vanessa Rodriguez was indicted on four counts of fraud in Miami last month. She was accused of spending money on lines of credit that did not belong to her, but many details of the allegations remained sealed.

BDO has denied the allegations against Fat Joe, which were settled on undisclosed terms earlier this year. But that lawsuit and the details contained within it had far-reaching implications for the accounting firm and led to the departure of several high-profile clients. Jay-Z's employees felt insulted by how BDO responded to the allegations from Fat Joe, a customer of Jay-Z's Roc Nation. Ultimately, this led to Jay-Z's exit as a client of BDO after he left BDO in 2023 – just months after Fat Joe's departure.

Megan Thee Stallion is also said to have left BDO due to the allegations after resigning as their client in 2022, BDO said Financial Times that the company “does not comment on pending litigation or matters relating to current or former customers.”