Why did Daddy Yankee shut down his $200M empire amid his ex-wife’s legal scandal?

News broke that Daddy Yankee abruptly dismantled his $200 million music empire, not due to retirement or creative burnout, but a full-blown scandal involving his ex‑wife. Daddy Yankee, the reggaetón powerhouse behind El Cartel Records and its sibling venture Los Cangris Inc., reportedly axed the whole operation after alleging that Mireddys González (and her sister) orchestrated a corporate meltdown.

The singer claimed his ex‑wife tried to siphon off roughly $100 million from his companies while simultaneously erasing years’ worth of internal records. The fallout led him to shut down the empire that helped define Latin urban music. In short, this isn’t about artistic decisions; it’s about betrayal, lawsuits, deleted emails, and a legacy on the line. 

Why Daddy Yankee shut down his $200M empire amid ex‑wife’s legal scandal

Daddy Yankee’s decision to shut down his empire was not a dramatic career move—it was a last‑ditch defensive measure triggered by what he describes as a coup from within. In a federal lawsuit filed in Puerto Rico, the star alleges that between December 2024 and early 2025, his ex‑wife Mireddys González and her sister Ayeicha transferred approximately $100 million from corporate bank accounts, including $80 million from El Cartel Records and another $20 million from Los Cangris Inc., into personal accounts, all without his approval.

As the lawsuit outlines, once Daddy Yankee regained court‑mandated control of the companies, he discovered that four years of crucial financial and business records had vanished, deleted emails, missing royalty checks, and other essential data. Forensic analysts reportedly confirmed the erasures, and the complaint accuses the sisters of overseeing intentional cleanup meant to cripple investigations.

Faced with a collapsing internal structure and absent transparency, Daddy Yankee says the only responsible path was to shut down El Cartel Records entirely. Official filings cite “difficulties in running the business, responding to audits, and tracking financial activity” as direct consequences of the alleged sabotage.

In March 2025, he escalated his legal action, suing Mireddys and Ayeicha for up to $250 million in damages, including claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, defamation, and financial mismanagement. He also filed a separate claim for $12 million over the data deletion alone, calling it a “deep betrayal of trust and a deliberate campaign to undermine the integrity of a business from within”. Alongside compensatory claims, the suit seeks punitive damages and restoration of control over the companies’ assets.

A key development came in December 2024, when Daddy Yankee and Mireddys reportedly struck a temporary “good faith” arrangement. Under that deal, he reclaimed presidency of his companies, and $75 million was frozen for 30 days; any transactions over $100,000 required mutual approval, and ongoing monthly financial disclosures were mandated.

Yet apparently, whether due to continuing mistrust, disappearing documents, or further financial irregularities, no amount of paper agreements could patch together a working empire. Daddy Yankee’s empire, once valued at around $200 million, was dismantled.

Empire isn’t just a figure of speech here; it reflects decades of music, deals, and brand equity. Now, its pieces are being sorted out in court. All this amid the blazing spotlight on a scandal tied painfully to personal and professional collapse.