One Memphis-based rapper, despite popularly knowing that rap is often portrayed to exhibit wealth, used lyrics that allegedly implicated him in a crime.
The U.S. Justice Department issued a press release on October 16 to share details on the arrest of Fontrell Antonio Baines.
Baines, 31, goes by the rap name Nuke Bixxle. The Memphis-raised rapper now lives in the Hollywood Hills and boasted about doing fraud to accrue wealth on the song and video, “EDD.”
Baines raps about allegedly using fake debit cards by saying, “getting rich by go[ing] to the bank with a stack of these.”
Another rapper in the video says, “You gotta sell cocaine, I just file a claim,” presumably talking bout using the CARES Act to receive funding.
The FBI claims that Baines used 92 debit cards that had been pre-loaded with more than $1.2 million in fraudulently obtained benefits. As a result, the authorities claim that Baines and his cohorts allegedly accessed more than $704,000 of benefits through cash withdrawals.
Baines is charged with access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and interstate transportation of stolen property. If convicted of all of these charges, Baines would face a statutory maximum sentence of 22 years in federal prison.
