Senagalese rapper Akon may sexually abuse underage fans on stage and toss kids into the crowd, but he’s not the hardened criminal he and his publicity team would like you to believe. The Smoking Gun uncovered that Akon has only served a few months in county jail on gun possession. That’s vastly different from the three years he claims to have spent in jail for running a car theft ring and chop shop.

Many of Akon’s songs cover his fabricated criminal past and prison time, and his whole music persona centers on his tough thug life. His three albums are called “Trouble,” “Konvicted,” and “Acquitted.” His first big hit, “Locked Up” off his 2004 album “Trouble” features the lyrics “Visitation no longer comes by, Seems like they forgot about me, Commissary is gettin empty, Cellmates gettin food without me.” Must’ve been awful those whole few months in NJ county prison.

Akon’s ad nauseum claims about his criminal career and resulting prison time have been, to an overwhelming extent, exaggerated, embellished, or wholly fabricated, an investigation by The Smoking Gun has revealed. Police, court, and corrections records reveal that the entertainer has created a fictionalized backstory that serves as the narrative anchor for his recorded tales of isolation, violence, woe, and regret. Akon has overdubbed his biography with the kind of grit and menace that he apparently believes music consumers desire from their hip-hop stars.

While the performer’s rap sheet does include a half-dozen arrests, Akon has only been convicted of one felony, for gun possession. That 1998 New Jersey case ended with a guilty plea, for which the singer was sentenced to three years probation. Another 1998 bust, this one in suburban Atlanta, has been seized upon by Akon and transformed into the big case that purportedly sent him to prison (thanks to his snitching cohorts) for three fight-filled years. In reality, Akon was arrested for possession of a single stolen BMW and held in the DeKalb County jail for several months before prosecutors dropped all charges against him.

So there was no conviction. There was no prison term between 1999 and 2002. And he was never “facing 75 years,” as the singer claimed in one videotaped interview.

Akon’s invented tales appear to be part of a cynical marketing plan, but one that has met with remarkable success. Few press interviews conclude without Akon being asked about his criminal exploits and his prison days. He obliges with canned and well-rehearsed claims, false as they may be, and compares his supposed nationwide operation to those depicted in the movies “Gone in 60 Seconds” and “New Jersey Drive.” And in interview after interview over the years, he always makes sure to point out the “notorious” nature of his theft ring (as if the adjective’s inclusion makes him sound even more felonious). Akon repeats the phrase “notorious car theft operation” so frequently it seems like he is reading it from a sheet of talking points.

[From The Smoking Gun]

The Smoking Gun has also compiled multiple examples of Akon lying about his past in interviews, including talking about police chases and his car stealing ring. He said “I literally owned 4 chop shops… jail was a blessing to me… I was in there for three years, and everybody I.. hung out with they’re literally dead or they’re doing time where they’re going to be 50, 60 before they get out. I got two friends on death row.”

Yeah, right Akon. You were a petty criminal who got rich inventing your past, and you just look like a punk now that it’s come out that you were lying the whole time. Unfortunately your music label is probably not going to have to issue refunds to all the fans you duped for years. James Frey got owned by the Smoking Gun, and now they’re doing the same to you.