Kaleb Mickens, aka “Cash Cartier,” was sentenced to 40 years in prison | Image by Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office/website
Kaleb Mickens, a 34-year-old Fort Worth man who portrayed himself online as the wealthy influencer “Cash Cartier,” was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated assault-family violence in the death of his girlfriend, Sheila Cuevas.
Mickens also received 20 years for a probation revocation on a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and 15 years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, both from Dallas County cases involving different women with whom he had been in relationships, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors described a years-long pattern of violence against multiple women, including abuse, manipulation, torture, and sexual assault. In a packed courtroom on Monday, several women delivered victim impact statements recounting their experiences.
Cuevas’ family, including her brother, addressed Mickens directly.
“There can be no justice that brings Sheila back, but there can be outcomes, and there can be accountability, and you deserve this,” they told him.
On October 8, 2023, Mickens called 911 to report that Cuevas was not breathing and claimed his dog, Soldier, had attacked her. Animal control euthanized the dog, but investigators later determined the animal played no role in Cuevas’ injuries or death. Prosecutors said Mickens had assaulted and drugged her.
Complications with the medical examiner’s findings prevented a murder charge, so prosecutors pursued the first-degree felony aggravated assault count, Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Allenna Bangs and defense attorney Peter Gieseking said.
Mickens built his public image through IM Academy, a multi-level marketing operation that prosecutors said lured young people with promises of earning thousands of dollars a week. At the height of his involvement, he was making about $20,000 weekly, according to authorities, before his income declined around the time of Cuevas’ death.
Bangs described Mickens as “a master of manipulation” who was “just incredibly abusive,” People magazine reported.
“He, by his nature, is just an abuser, and that’s kind of what we found by investigating his case,” she said.
She noted Cuevas’ background as a valedictorian and graduate degree holder. “A valedictorian, had a graduate degree — ended up in his grips and couldn’t find a way out even with a loving family,” Bangs said.
Gieseking added that the exact events of that day remain unclear, People reported.
“There were some complications with the case with the medical examiner proving the cause of death, so we weren’t able to charge him with murder, so ultimately charged with a first-degree felony offense,” he said. “But ultimately, what happened on that day we don’t really know.”
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office thanked “Detective Tracy Dixon and the Arlington Police Department as well as the
many prior victims from across the country who came forward to finally bring Kaleb Mickens to justice.”