Rapper Arrested After Bragging About Getting Rich Off EDD Benefits In Music Video
An upcoming rapper who recently released a single entitled “EDD” has been arrested for fraud after bragging about getting rich from unemployment benefits.
Fontrell Antonio Baines, 31, who uses the stage name “Nuke Bizzle,” was arrested on Friday.
Reports stated that Baines carried out the scheme by fraudulently applying for more than $1.2 million in jobless benefits, including by using stolen identities, federal prosecutors announced.
According to the affidavit, evidence gathered during the investigation established that at least 92 debit cards that had been pre-loaded with more than $1.2 million. Baines and his co-schemers allegedly accessed more than $704,000 of those benefits through cash withdrawals, including in Las Vegas, as well as purchases of merchandise and services.
On Sept. 23, Las Vegas police arrested Baines, who had in his possession eight debit cards, seven of which were in the names of other people, the affidavit states.
Baines who’s from of Memphis, Tennessee, and currently resides in the Hollywood Hills, is expected to make his initial appearance Friday afternoon in Los Angeles federal court.
His facing three felony offenses — access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and interstate transportation of stolen property. If convicted of all of charges, Baines would face up to 22 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“I got rich off EDD!” Catchy song, but it got Nuke Bizzle in a hemp of trouble.
