Ja Rule, Irv Gotti Sue Publishing Company for Fraud

Times aren't getting any less tough for Ja Rule. The recently incarcerated rapper, along with his former business partner and Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti, has filed a new lawsuit alleging that he has been defrauded out of tens of thousands of dollars by a mysterious publishing company.

Rich Kid Music falsely claimed to own licensing rights to multiple songs from Rule's triple platinum 2001 album Pain Is Love, according to the lawsuit. The company and its proprietor Rondo Robinson then proceeded to illegally collect $57,000 in royalties--money that rightfully belonged to Murder Inc.

Both Gotti and Rule claim to have never heard of Rich Kid Music.

Ja Rule is currently serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence stemming from a 2007 incident where he was found in illegal possession of a hand gun.

(Photo: Tina Paul/Camera Press/Retna)