If there's one thing the internet age has taught us, it's that the boys are always watching and listening. Yet, it seems like one Tennessee rapper missed this lesson in common sense as he's now facing fraud charges after boasting about scamming in his latest music video.
Fontrell Antonio Baines was arrested for allegedly committing unemployment fraud, CBS reports. Authorities were notified of Baines' potential crimes because he was using his lifestyle to fuel his rap career. The 31-year-old performs under the stage name Nuke Bizzle and makes songs that brag about finessing California's Employment Development Department. He even created a music video for a single in which he claims have gotten "rich of EDD."
"Unemployment so sweet we had 1.5 land this week," Baines rapped while another artist added: "You gotta sell cocaine, I can just file a claim."
Per CBS Los Angeles, Baines was arrested in late-September by the Las Vegas police. During the arrest, officers found eight EDD debit cards in Baines' possession—seven of which had names of other people. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Baines and his co-conspirators accessed at least 92 debit cards pre-loaded with more than $1.2 million. They also accessed more than $704,000 of this money through cash withdrawals.
Along with running an EDD scam, the criminal complaint alleges Baines exploited the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provision of federal coronavirus relief, or CARES Act, which was supposed to supplement income for freelance and gig workers. Baines is now facing up to 22 years in federal prison for three felony counts of access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and interstate transportation of stolen property.
