French Montana has settled a $1 million lawsuit involving a counterfeit Richard Mille watch but lost his bid to keep the case details private, according to a recent ruling by a federal judge in Nevada.
The lawsuit, which began last fall, centers on a Richard Mille RM-59-01 watch loaned to French Montana by longtime acquaintances Justo Obiang and Samir Gato during Paris Fashion Week in January 2025. The watch, originally purchased for about $450,000 in 2016, had increased in value to over $1 million by the time the lawsuit was filed.
French Montana had provided a watch as collateral, promising to return the Richard Mille within 30 days. However, as first reported by AllHipHop, the collateral watch turned out to be counterfeit. Afterward, French stopped responding to Obiang and Gato, leading to the lawsuit.
The defense team of French Montana made arguments against allowing public access to the court papers once the settlement was reached, based on their fear of reputation risk because of the swift manner through which the information regarding the case is disseminated and twisted in meaning.
The defense stated that Maintaining the case information within the public record, even post-resolution, created significant risk for his reputation, given the nature of his status and the rapidity through which information related to his name can be disseminated and misrepresented.
Nevertheless, the federal judge dismissed their arguments by saying that Even embarrassment does not alone provide an adequate basis for closure of court papers.To underscore this point, the judge referenced a lyric from French Montana's song Salam Alaykum, "It don't matter what you do, man, they still gon' hate you."
Attorney Steve Haddad, representing French Montana when the lawsuit first became public, strongly denied the allegations. He insisted that the claims were untrue and that French accepted the watch as payment for promotional work he did in Egypt at Obiang's request, not as a loan.
Though the parties reached a settlement before the case went to trial, neither side has confirmed the settlement terms. Since the court won't seal the records, these details will probably be made public.
French Montana's Engagement to Princess of Dubai
Separately, People reported that French Montana revealed that he first noticed his fiancée, Sheikha Mahra, Princess of Dubai, after seeing her bold and viral Instagram post in July 2024 announcing her divorce from her then-husband, Sheikh Mana bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, accusing him of infidelity. Impressed by her courage, he connected with her through a mutual contact.
The couple began dating publicly in October 2024 and got engaged during Paris Fashion Week in June 2025. French Montana proposed with a custom-designed 11.53-carat emerald-cut diamond ring worth about $1.1 million. Wedding plans are underway but details remain unfinalized.
Sheikha Mahra has a daughter from her previous marriage, and Montana has a 16-year-old son named Kruz.
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