Pretty Ricky Rapper Surrenders In PPP Loan Fraud Spree at Hard Rock Hollywood
Baby Blue, a rapper with Florida-based hip-hop/R&B radical Pretty Ricky, is turning himself inward to the feds.
The Miramar-based transcription artist told his social media followers that on Monday, he testament begin a 20-month doom for his role inwards a $35 one thousand thousand COVID-19 embossment dupery scheme.
The 37-year-old, real name Diamond Blue Smith, was not the biggest player inwards the scheme. But inwards August, he pleaded guilty to 1 counting of conducting wire dupery related to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans he claimed for II companies he owns, totaling to a greater extent than $1.1 million.
Smith admitted using the cash in hand as his personal expenses, disbursement a great deal of the money at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. He also splurged on sumptuousness items, including a Ferrari for $96,000.
He confessed to paying more than $250,000 of the money to James II Stote of Hollywood, FL and Phillip Augustin of Coral Springs, FL as a military commission for preparing and submitting the fraudulent applications and creating mistaken documentation.
$35M Scheme
In December, Stote and Augustin pleaded hangdog in a royal court in Ohio River to defer at least 79 fraudulent PPP applications for themselves and 25 associates, including Smith. According to prosecutors, the scheme relied on false payroll department numbers, falsified IRS forms, and phony cant statements.
At the time of their arrest, they were planning to a greater extent applications.
The pair are yet to be sentenced and could human face upward to 20 years inwards prison. John Smith has been ordered to pay off $1,111,345.23 inward restitution, plus $1,134,782 inward forfeiture. Union soldier agents have got already seized his Ferrari.
“While many businesses inwards our communities relied upon relievo finances to keep their doors opened and employees paid, these defendants profited away a intrigue that stole millions of taxpayer dollars intended for struggling businesses and spent it richly on themselves,” said First Assistant US Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio.
“Theft of governing pecuniary resource will not follow tolerated, and prosecuting PPP fraud remains a antecedence for practice of law enforcement,” she added.
Smith’s Apologies to Fans
Smith, whose grouping had hits in the 2000s with Grind with Me and Your Body, told followers on Instagram he had “made a mistake.”
I’ve learned from it the strong way of life and won’t relieve oneself it again,” he wrote. “My mistakes don’t define me as a man, and i testament come in out of this more than i was before, with more integrity, more character, more knowledge of myself, more [sic] wiser, more [sic] stronger!” he claimed.
“Turning myself inwards to the Feds on Monday, Feb 7th. If you wanna indite me or direct me anything, escort info below…” he added, before listing the name and address of FCI Coleman Low, a federal Correctional Institution.