Love and Hip-Hop: Miami Star Accused of $24 Million COVID-19 Relief Loan Fraud

Rapper Diamond Blue Smith, a member of Pretty Ricky, has been accused of participating in a $24 million COVID-19 relief fraud scam.  According to the Department of Justice, Smith, who goes by the stage name Baby Blue, was arrested on October 6, 2020 after being suspected of falsifying documents to receive loans for his small businesses through the the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. Smith has been charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, the DOJ wrote in a news release.

According to Local10, the 36-year-old rapper was able to secure one loan of $427,000 for his company, Throwbackjersey.com. Smith is then accused of applying for another loan through his record label, Blue Star Records LLC for the amount of $708,00, which he was approved for, the Tampa Bay Times reported. NBC Miami said that Smith is accused of using $96,000 of these funds to purchase a Ferrari, which was seized when he was arrested. The DOJ shared that he also withdrew $271,805 from his loan payout.

The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program was enacted by the CARES Act in order to offer relief to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Department of Treasury, it enables businesses to offer “eight weeks of payroll costs including benefits” and “funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities.”

NFL Player Josh Bellamy Is Also Accused Of Being Involved in the Scam

GettyJosh Bellamy

Smith is accused of participating in this scheme along with 11 other people, including NFL player Josh Bellamy. According to the criminal complaint from the Department of Justice, Bellamy, who previously played for the New York Jets, was “charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on September 9, 2020, in the Southern District of Florida with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.”

According to Local 10, Bellamy was approved for a loan of over $1 million that he applied for through his company Drip Entertainment. The complaint highlighted that his company was incorporated in 2018 but later dissolved in 2019. When it was incorporated, Bellamy was listed as its only employee. However, on the PPP application, Bellamy is accused of claiming that his company had 47 employees with a quarterly payroll of $1.5 million.

He is accused of spending $62,000 of the monies he received from the loan at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Broward, Florida and spending $104,000 at designer stores like Gucci and Dior, the complaint read. Bellamy is also suspected of trying to apply for small business loans for his family members as well. On September 8, 2020, Bellamy, who made his NFL debut in 2012, was released from the New York Jets’ physically unable to perform list, ESPN reported. He had signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Jets in 2019. When he was released, the Jets were not aware of the charges filed.

The DOJ said in a news release that 90 fraudulent applications were prepared to be submitted and most of them were processed and approved. Altogether, the loans applied for amounted up to $24 million. Loans that added up to around $17.4 million were paid out.  The other suspected conspirators in the scheme are from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

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