Florida rapper charged with conspiring to steal coronavirus relief funds

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/10/07/Florida-rapper-charged-with-conspiring-to-steal-coronavirus-relief-funds/6471602053928/

Florida rapper charged with conspiring to steal coronavirus relief funds

By Darryl Coote

Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors have charged a South Florida rapper of conspiring with others to steal tens of millions of dollars in federal relief funds meant to aid small businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Justice Department in a release said Diamond Blue Smith, 36, a member of the music group Pretty Ricky, and Tonye C. Johnson, 28, of Flourtown, Pa., have been charged in federal criminal complaints unsealed Tuesday for wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

The complaints said the pair were charged in a scheme involving 11 other defendants, including former NFL wide receiver Joshua Bellamy, to steal $24 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program.

The Paycheck Protection Program was included in the $2 trillion CARES Act that President Donald Trump signed in March to help small businesses struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic to keep employees on their payrolls.

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