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New Lawsuit Says King of Diamonds Forced Strippers To Work Without Pay. Akinyele Among Defendants Named in Bombshell Suit Against Miami Jiggle Joint

It bills itself as the place where the famous and the infamous party hard in Miami. But a new class action lawsuit alleges the King of Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club is an exploitative hellhole where dancers weren’t paid and had to shell out cash for the right to rock the pole.

And Akinyele Adams, best known for his 1996 hit song, “Put It In Your Mouth,” is named as one of the defendants.

Nearly 30 current and former strippers are suing the legendary mammary mecca for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, by not paying them, charging them hundreds in “house fees” and forcing them to kick back tips to club staff.

“Some girls have paid as high as $750 to work,” one of the women in the lawsuit told Bossip. “And then you still have to pay your 10 percent (in kicked back tips to club staff). Girls were walking out of there with nothing. It happened plenty of times.”

“Such acts were committed knowingly and willfully…with a conscious disregard for the rights of the Plaintiffs and persons similarly situated under federal wage and hour laws, by which such acts have deprived the Plaintiffs and persons similarly situated of their property and legal rights,” the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court, says.

Rapper turned King of Diamonds manager Akinyele Adams, along with at least one other manager, Rick Taylor, or “Disco Rick,” would fine the women if they didn’t follow the rules, the suit says. The women had to pay at least $100 if they didn’t call in before work and were made to exchange singles for larger bills from the club – a service the women were often charged for.

“It was clear that he (Disco Rick) set the fees and the fines,” the woman, 36, who asked that Bossip not identify her, said. “He would send out text messages everyday for what the fees were going to be.”

The club owners, Galardi South Enterprises and Fly Low Entertainment, decided that security guards would collect the women’s tips, and the dancers said money would go missing when management finally handed the tips over, the court papers say.

“That happened quote often,” the dancer said of missing money. “Sometimes it’d be so small you wouldn’t notice it, but sometimes it’d be so big, you’d notice it.”

King of Diamonds policy was to not pay the women because they were independent contractors, according to the complaint. Teri Galardi, the CEO of Galardi Enterprises and Fly Low Entertainment, didn’t return requests for comment. Neither Akinyele Adams, nor Disco Rick returned requests for comment.

The woman told Bossip that she just wants what’s owed to her.

“Pay me the wages I did not get paid, and reimburse me for the fines that I paid,” the mom of two said. “I feel like that’s fair. I’m not asking for a penny more.”

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