Maryland’s trusted source for business, legal and government news Monday, October 20, 2008 Volume 120 | Number 13 TheDailyRecord.com Singer claims ex-husband pushed her into investing in Baltimore property Sandra Denton, better known as “Pepa” the company and that neither Horton, who of female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa, has lived much managed the portfolio on her behalf, nor any- of her life in the public eye, gracing stages one else was an officer. around the world for 30 years and appearing in “Anything, any proceeds that were made… movies and television shows, including a VH1 would be mine,” she testified. On cross-exam- reality show, The Salt-N-Pepa Show. ination, she added, “I would have the final But sitting at the witness stand in a small say-so about anything that was done.” courtroom on the top floor of the federal Horton and Denton divorced in Decem- courthouse in Baltimore Monday morning, ber 2003 after the hip-hop star realized that wearing a black leather jacket and tight black he was cheating on her and had gotten Cate- jeans, Pepa could not have been less at ease. ania Matthews, who is now his wife, pregnant. The Jamaica-born entertainer claimed to But Horton and Denton remained in contact, be cold and nervous, prompting U.S. Bank- with Horton managing and sometimes selling ruptcy Judge Robert A. Gordon, at one point Scotch Bonnet’s properties. during her testimony, to tell her to “take a Though Denton was living in New Jersey deep breath and relax.” and otherwise occupied with her show busi- Denton was in court on Monday to claim ness career, one property sale caught her at- ownership of a piece of property she bought tention: the December 2005 sale of a property as an investment — one that was transferred in the 800 block of East 41st Street to Mat- Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton, shown at a movie premiere to her ex-husband’s new wife, who is repre- thews. in New York last December, is in Baltimore to senting herself in the bankruptcy adversary The property had been sold to Matthews challenge the transfer of one of her investment proceeding. by Corey Johnson, a friend of Horton’s who properties to her ex-husband’s new wife. Denton’s road to court started in a Balti- had managed to add himself as an officer of Attorneys for Washington Mutual and more nightclub in more than six years ago, Scotch Bonnet on Maryland State Department Halvaot, a small Baltimore lender which gave where she met her now ex-husband, Emora of Assessments and Taxation records, al- Matthews a home equity loan a year after she Horton. How the venue shifted from the club legedly without Denton’s knowledge. Johnson purchased the property, argued they acted rea- to the court is a story, complete with a sub- was not in the courtroom yesterday, and none sonably. prime mortgage gone wrong, that might have of the parties seemed to know where he was. “We had no knowledge that Pepa was formed the basis for a Salt-N-Pepa hit. The property sold for $140,000, $112,000 of going to pop up and say Cateania got the prop- “It’s all personal,” Horton said during an which was financed. It was also represented erty through fraud,” said Martin H. Schreiber afternoon break in the proceedings. He sat in to Washington Mutual Inc. that Matthews had II, who represents Halvaot. the courtroom for much of the day, including paid Scotch Bonnet $30,000, money Denton Matthews, representing herself, also testi- for his wife’s cross-examination of his ex-wife, said she never saw. fied that she “had no knowledge of any forg- but did not testify himself. On this basis, Scotch Bonnet — Denton — ery.” In a whirlwind romance, Denton and Hor- sued Matthews, Johnson, Horton, and the enti- Schreiber said the legal issue Gordon will ton married in October 2002, moved into a ties who financed the sale, Washington Mutual eventually have to decide is whether John- row house in the 2200 block of North Calvert and Halvaot LLC in June 2006. The case was son’s actions constituted fraud or forgery. Street, and decided to invest in Baltimore real removed to federal bankruptcy court after “Apparently Maryland law makes a dis- estate. The result was Scotch Bonnet Realty Matthews filed for bankruptcy a year ago. tinction between fraud and forgery,” he said, Corp., presumably named for the small Carib- Denton seeks to regain the property free explaining that if the answer is fraud, the lend- bean hot pepper. and clear of the liens put on it by Matthews. ers can foreclose, but if the answer is forgery, Horton bought and sold properties multi- In court Monday, Denton’s attorney, J. then the sale was invalid and Scotch Bonnet ple times under the title vice president, and Michael Broumas argued that she had been still owns the house. “If anything, we say it’s he maintains that he was authorized to do so. taken advantage of and that the various defen- fraud.” In court Monday, though, Denton repeat- dants had either perpetrated a fraud upon her The hearing is expected to wrap up on edly testified that she was the sole owner of or should have discovered it before she did. Tuesday.