October 9. 2020

Pretty Ricky member Baby Blue (pictured on the far right) has been arrested

Pretty Rick rapper Baby Blue, real name Diamond Blue Smith, 36, of Miami, Florida, has been arrested for committing a $24,000,000 coronavirus stimulus funds fraud. Baby Blue applied for $24,000,000 in stimulus loan funds under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) using two of his companies. PPP loans do not have to be repaid.

Baby Blue obtained stimulus funds for reasons other than what the government intended, using his companies Blue Star Records LLC and Throwbackjersey.com. He also applied for stimulus loans under other people's names. He used falsified documents to obtain all the loans.

Baby Blue collected nearly $500,000 for the scam and spent it on luxury items such as a $96,000 Ferrari, among other things, while anticipating the remaining $23,500,000. However, the Feds arrested him on fraud charges and put a halt to the scam. All assets and bank accounts have been seized by the government.

Authorities also arrested Baby Blue's co-conspirator, Tonye C. Johnson. They have been arrested on charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. 11 additional defendants from several other states are included in his scam.

Side Bar: on a related note, rapper TI (Clifford Harris) has been going around telling people to use stimulus loan funds to buy homes and land, which is not what the congressional program is for in any measure. It is mainly meant to pay companies' employees who would otherwise be left unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Stop listening to TI lest he gets you indicted and arrested.

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