Atlanta rapper Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, has reportedly won a key post-trial victory in the long-running YSL RICO saga, as a Georgia judge has ordered the state to return his seized cars and roughly $149,000 in cash following the conclusion of the YSL racketeering trial in Fulton County. According to reports, the ruling comes after the last remaining defendants in the YSL RICO case were acquitted of racketeering, murder, and gang-related charges in Atlanta, dealing another legal setback to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.According to the Los Angeles Times and CBS News, the YSL RICO trial ended in early December 2024 with not-guilty verdicts on the most serious counts for the final two defendants.[1][3]
The YSL RICO prosecution, launched in 2022, initially targeted Young Thug and 27 others under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, with prosecutors alleging that YSL functioned as a violent street gang tied to the Bloods.According to court records summarized by CBS News and the Los Angeles Times, the sweeping indictment used song lyrics and social media posts as key evidence.[1][3][4] Authorities seized multiple vehicles and large sums of cash linked to Williams during the investigation, as part of the state’s effort to tie alleged criminal activity to material assets. The judge’s new order to release those assets reportedly follows the collapse of the broader racketeering narrative at trial, as jurors rejected core elements of the state’s case against the remaining YSL defendants.[1][3]
The criminal trial itself formally wrapped on December 3, 2024, when a Fulton County jury found rapper Deamonte Kendrick, known as Yak Gotti, not guilty on all counts and cleared co-defendant Shannon Stillwell of racketeering, murder, and gang charges, convicting him only of a gun possession offense.According to the Los Angeles Times and CBS News, those verdicts arrived nearly two years after jury selection and marked the end of Georgia’s longest criminal trial.[1][3][4] By that point, Young Thug had already entered a non-negotiated guilty plea on gang, drug, and gun charges in October 2024, receiving a sentence of 40 years with five years commuted to time served and the remainder on probation, along with a ban from metro Atlanta except for limited circumstances.[1][3][4] The return of his cars and cash reportedly follows from the acquittals and the conclusion of the underlying racketeering proceeding.
The judge’s order to release Young Thug’s assets underscores the broader legal and cultural fallout from the YSL case, which has drawn intense scrutiny over the use of rap lyrics as evidence and the aggressive application of RICO statutes to hip-hop artists.Legal analysts have framed the mixed outcome—Young Thug’s plea deal alongside co-defendants’ acquittals—as a major blow to Fani Willis’ high-profile anti-gang strategy.[1][3][5] For hip-hop, the decision reportedly returning the rapper’s vehicles and $149K signals a partial restoration of his property as he begins serving a lengthy term of probation, while the industry continues to debate how prosecutors and courts should treat creative expression in future cases.
