ja-rule1.jpgA Saddle River, NJ contractor has taken Ja Rule to court over $8,000 he says the rapper owes him for work done on his home. According to The Bergen Record, Joel Tobia says he and six of his employees put in over 150 hours of work at Ja’s house to fix a bad leak, but the rapper has only paid a portion of the $13,000 bill. “He paid me $5,000 and wouldn't pay me the rest,” Tobia told the paper. “I don't know why.” Tobia, who says he has already won a judgment in civil court after the rapper failed to appear, is now trying to bring criminal charges against his former employer. The contractor claims that Ja’s failure to pay amounts to criminal theft of services. Both men appeared in a Hackensack, NJ courtroom on Thursday (August 9) for a hearing to determine whether or not criminal charges are warranted. Brian Neary, an attorney for the rapper, says that the amount in dispute is actually only $4,000. "Some work was done, and there was a dispute as to whether the work was done properly and whether money is owed," Neary said on Thursday. Municipal court judge Roy F. McGeady rescheduled the hearing for next week, at which point he will either dismiss the case or rule that it may proceed.

More From XXL