On The Street

Teddy Riley and Brandon T. Jackson at Tropic Thunder Premier

Riley To Sell Iconic Studio To Cover Debts

R+B singer/producer Teddy Riley has been forced to sell his Virginia recording studio in an effort to pay back debts of around $1 million.

The former Blackstreet star - who has produced tracks for the likes of Michael and Janet Jackson and Mary J. Blige - filed for bankruptcy in 2002.

Lawyers for Riley are currently looking to sell his Future Records Recording Studios in Thalia to pay back angry creditors who loaned him $700,000 in 2005.

Riley defaulted on payments for the borrowed cash from Equitable Relocation Services Inc., and in 2006, the company won a $700,000 judgement against him - but they have so far received just $261,000.

But attorney Richard J. Conrod Sr. is attempting to preserve the studio and sell it as a business as opposed to real estate: "I'm trying to save this iconic studio for the cultural heritage it represents. It would be a shame for it to be mowed down or become anything but a recording studio."

The studio cost more than $3 million when it was first opened in 1991, but the then-state-of-the-art equipment is now out-of-date.

It's not the first time Riley has been hassled for outstanding bills - he has continued to face trouble from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for unpaid income taxes since 2004.

Riley resorted to selling his Virginia Beach home in 2006 for $1.5 million to settle the $1 million he owed the IRS, as well as pay off the mansion's outstanding mortgage.

And he was hit again by another IRS bill for $196,747 in 2007, and in January 2008, Virginia state filed a $93,684 income tax lien against him.

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