Rapper-turned-pastor Mason Betha, otherwise known as Mase, is currently facing legal trouble for allegedly failing to pay jewelry charges.

Betha, raised in Harlem, N.Y., is being sued for $35,000 by jeweler Aydin and Company for allegedly failing to pay for jewelry obtained in 2005. According to the lawsuit, Betha also owes 1.5 percent interest per month on the amount owed, as well as legal fees.

As TMZ reports, court filings indicate that Betha has been accused of “evading service” after the jewelry company repeatedly attempted to notify the preacher of their lawsuit against him. Betha’s reportedly staff turned away representatives of Aydin and Company, saying he was unavailable.

The company has been attempting to serve legal documents to Betha since the summer, according to TMZ.

As TMZ reports, Betha also filed legal papers requesting the court to drop the case, arguing that he never signed an “alleged contract at issue in case.” 

Betha was originally a popular rapper, sporting the stage name Mase. He became a part of rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs’ label “Bad Boy Records” in the late 90’s, but cut his career short in 1999 to pursue his relationship with God as a pastor.

He then went on to found El Elyon International Church and Mason Betha Ministries, as well as an offshoot of El Elyon, the outreach group entitled Born to Succeed.

Betha, 36, then wrote a 2004 autobiography documenting his religious journey, entitled Revelations: There’s a Light After the Lime.

When attempting to contact Betha at his church in Atlanta, Ga., The Christian Post found that the line had been disconnected.

 The Christian Post Daily Report 01.02.12