Baby Blue, a rapper with Florida-based hip-hop/R&B mathematical group Pretty Ricky, is turning himself inward to the feds.

The Miramar-based transcription creative person told his societal media followers that on Monday, he will lead off a 20-month condemn for his role in a $35 gazillion COVID-19 embossment hoax scheme.

The 37-year-old, real name Diamond Blue Smith, was non the biggest participant in the scheme. But inwards August, he pleaded shamefaced to 1 look of conducting wire put-on related to to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans he claimed for two 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 opulence items, including a Ferrari for $96,000.

He confessed to paying more than $250,000 of the money to Jesse James Stote of Hollywood, FL and Phillip Augustin of Coral Springs, FL as a direction for preparing and submitting the fraudulent applications and creating mistaken documentation.

$35M Scheme

In December, Stote and Augustin pleaded guilty inwards a court of law inwards Ohio River to defer at least 79 fraudulent PPP applications for themselves and 25 associates, including Smith. According to prosecutors, the intrigue relied on sham payroll department numbers, falsified IRS forms, and phony camber statements.

At the time of their arrest, they were preparation to a greater extent applications.

The geminate are yet to follow sentenced and could face upward to 20 years inward prison. Joseph Smith has been ordered to make up $1,111,345.23 inward restitution, positive $1,134,782 inward forfeiture. Union soldier agents hold already seized his Ferrari.

“While many businesses inwards our communities relied upon ministration funds to dungeon their doors open up and employees paid, these defendants profited turned a strategy 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 government cash in hand will not follow tolerated, and prosecuting PPP fraud remains a antecedence for law enforcement,” she added.

Smith’s Apologies to Fans

Smith, whose group had hits inward the 2000s with Grind with Me and Your Body, told followers on Instagram he had “made a mistake.”

I’ve learned from it the knockout way of life and won’t pretend it again,” he wrote. “My mistakes don’t delineate me as a man, and I testament follow out of this more than I was before, with more integrity, more character, to a greater extent knowledge of myself, more [sic] wiser, to a greater extent [sic] stronger!” he claimed.

“Turning myself inwards to the Feds on Monday, Feb 7th. If you wanna drop a line me or send me anything, control info below…” he added, before itemisation the accost of FCI Coleman Low, a federal Correctional Institution.

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