Just a few weeks after he was charged with lying to a federal agent about his relationship with one of his alleged co-conspirators in a federal fraud case, G Herbo has pled “not guilty” to the charges.
According to MassLive, the 25-year-old rapper attended a Zoom hearing Tuesday with U.S. District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts. Herbo’s attorney, Jim Lawson, maintained his client’s innocence while advising the U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni that the Chicago native is well aware of the charges against him.
“Mr. Wright [Herbo’s surname] is an intelligent man; he understands the concept,” Lawson told the court.
Authorities are accusing Herbo of lying about his relationship with Antonio Strong, who is allegedly the rapper’s friend and business associate. The prosecution claims that Herb told a federal agent he never gave Strong money or received anything of value from his co-defendant as well as denying a direct connection to Strong.
However, the FBI believes that Herbo has known Strong since 2016 and has maintained frequent contact. The FBI also alleges that Herbo gave Strong money and received “private jet charters, luxury accommodations, and exotic car rentals” from him.
“Wright falsely said he’d never provided Strong any money, never received anything of value from Strong and had no direct relationship with Strong,” the charges state. “In fact, since at least 2016, Wright had received valuable goods from Strong, including private jet charters, luxury accommodations and exotic car rentals.”
Prosecutors allege that Herbo “knowingly and willfully made the following materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States.”
The next pretrial hearing in the case is set for August 5.
