Tim Leissner, the former well-known banker at Goldman Sachs who was sentenced to prison due to his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, has reportedly initiated divorce proceedings from Kimora Lee Simmons.
He cited “irreconcilable differences” in the filing against the former reality TV star and Baby Phat founder, as reported by TMZ earlier this week.
The legal documents do not specify when the couple separated, but sources mentioned that Leissner and Simmons have been living separately since at least March 2022.
Leissner is looking for joint legal and physical custody of their 11-year-old daughter, Wolf Lee Reisner. The couple tied the knot in March 2014.
Leissner was arrested by federal agents in Washington, D.C., back in June 2018 as part of the investigation into the 1MDB corruption and money laundering case. He and his former Goldman associate, Roger Ng, faced charges for assisting Malaysian investor Jho Low in misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars from the 1MDB fund.
Later in 2018, Leissner entered a guilty plea for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiracy to launder money.
He received a two-year prison sentence in May of last year.
At a court hearing in 2022, Leissner disclosed that he married Simmons while still legally bound to his first wife, Judy Chan Reissner, and even faked his divorce on two occasions to remarry.
Leissner testified that he used tens of millions in illicit funds from 1MDB to finance his extravagant lifestyle and admitted to having numerous extramarital affairs, one of which involved blackmailing a woman into purchasing a $10 million mansion.
Simmons’s past relationship with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons began when she was a teenage model, leading to their marriage in 1998 and two daughters. However, their split became contentious, resulting in a lengthy divorce process and ongoing public disputes over finances and childcare.
The fallout grew more heated, with Kimora accusing Russell of being abusive. In response, he claimed she engaged in financial misconduct and interfered in his relationship with their children, intensifying the family feud.
The legal confrontation escalated further in 2021 when Russell sued Kimora and Leissner, alleging they used his roughly 4 million Celsius shares as collateral for their legal expenses related to the 1MDB case.
Russell Simmons faces multiple allegations of sexual misconduct from various women, which he denies.
