A Tennessee rapper was arrested last month in Las Vegas after he bragged about participating in an unemployment benefits scam during a music video.
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31-year-old Fontrell Antonio Baines aka Nuke Bizzle was arrested and charged with fraud after applying for more than $1.2 million in unemployment benefits on Sept. 23 in Las Vegas. Authorities say he is currently a resident in Hollywood Hills, California, and made his first court appearance at the U.S. District Court on Friday. During his arrest, police officers found eight EDD debit cards in his possession and seven of those cards were in the names of other people.
An arrest affidavit claims he bragged about the scam in a YouTube video and said the following lyrics, “My swagger for EDD” and getting rich by “go[ing] to the bank with a stack of these” while holding up the EDD envelopes. The video was uploaded on Sept. 11 under the title “EDD.”
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According to CBS Los Angeles, the criminal complaint filed against Baines alleges that he exploited the CARES Act due to the coronavirus pandemic. The affidavit also stated Baines preloaded over 92 EDD cards and had them sent to addresses in Beverly Hills and Koreatown. He and his accomplices withdrew over $704,000 in cash from the cards.
His official charges were listed as access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and interstate transportation of stolen property. If convicted for these charges, he will face the maximum sentence of 22 years in prison.