ADAMS COUNTY — Rapper Afroman filed a lawsuit against former Adams County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Newland yesterday, alleging the officer stole $400 during a 2022 raid on his home.
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The lawsuit was filed in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas, according to our news partners at WCPO.
The legal action follows a civil trial in March where a jury sided with the rapper, whose legal name is Joseph Foreman, against the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
That previous litigation involved deputies suing Foreman for using their images in music videos filmed during an August 2022 search of his property.
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Foreman, a rapper who performs under the name Afroman, announced the lawsuit on social media Tuesday.
He alleged that Newland took the cash while deputies were searching his Ohio home.
“HAPPY OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY TO ME,” Foreman wrote on Instagram. “I’m suing the police officer who stole my $400, then has the audacity to sue me for 1,500,000 dollars.”
The allegations stem from a raid on Aug. 21, 2022, when deputies broke through a gate and entered Foreman’s home with guns drawn.
The search warrant cited allegations of drug trafficking and kidnapping, but Foreman never faced any charges related to the raid.
The rapper said the search caused significant damage to his property and that deputies disconnected his surveillance cameras during the entry.
Foreman previously stated that he noticed a discrepancy in the amount of cash returned by police compared to what was seized.
“$400 came up missing from what they said they had,” Foreman said. “So the crime scene switches from my house to the police station. They started investigating themselves and they say it was simply a miscount. How do you miscount $400?”
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office stated that Clermont County conducted an outside investigation into the incident.
According to officials, that probe concluded that no money was stolen and attributed the missing funds to a miscount.
Following the 2022 raid, Foreman released the album “Lemon Pound Cake” and used surveillance footage from the search to create music videos that amassed millions of views.
Newland and other deputies subsequently sued the rapper, claiming he used their likenesses without permission for commercial purposes. T
That lawsuit alleged the videos caused the officers “humiliation, ridicule, mental distress, embarrassment and loss of reputation.”
In March, an Adams County jury ruled in favor of Foreman in the civil suit regarding the music videos. Foreman was visibly emotional following the verdict.
“I didn’t win,” Foreman said. “America won. America still has freedom of speech. It’s still for the people by the people.”
