An arbitrator has awarded Diplo $1.2 million dollars in a ruling related to a yearslong legal battle between the producer and a former fling named Shelly Auguste.
According to Diplo’s legal team, this arbitration was the result of a violation of the Dual Restraining Order agreement between the producer (Thomas Wesley Pentz) and Auguste, with documents outlining that Auguste broke the agreement by posting about the dispute. Both parties’ lawyers agreed to the arbitration process to resolve this violation.
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“At the outset, the Arbitrator finds that Auguste’s credibility is lacking,” reads a copy of the judge’s arbitration award, which has been reviewed by Billboard. “On many occasions, her testimony about the circumstances of her relationship with Pentz was materially different from the documentary evidence presented … The record evidence contains significant inconsistencies that raise concerns about the believability of much of Auguste’s testimony.”
Lawyers for Auguste did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We are all extremely pleased for Wes and his family,” says Diplo’s attorney Bryan Freedman. “What happened here is simple. The arbitrator looked at all the facts. She evaluated the evidence impartially. And justice prevailed.”
“A win for me and my family today,” Pentz tweeted Wednesday (Sept. 21) with a link to the news.
Since 2019, the pair has filed a series of lawsuits against each other, with Auguste initially alleging that Pentz was attempting to release revenge porn against her, and then Pentz filing a suit including his own allegations of revenge pornography, stalking and trespassing. A pair of civil cases related to the various lawsuits between Pentz and Auguste remain ongoing.
“I’m obviously going to win that [case],” Diplo told Billboard in March. “But I don’t think it affected anything. If I tried to book a show, some venues might have said, ‘Uh, I don’t like this story,’ but basically everyone supported me that knows me. Like, ‘This is our guy.’ I’m lucky that I had a team of people that just knew me, that know me for who I am.’”
