Chicago rapper G Herbo will plead guilty to charges related to using stolen credit card information to pay for private jets, luxury vehicles and “designer puppies,” according to a federal court filing.
G Herbo, whose real name is Herbert Wright III, 27, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, federal prosecutors announced in December 2020. He was one of six co-defendants in the case, officials said.
Prosecutors on Wednesday filed paperwork in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts that shows the rapper agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements. A conspiracy conviction carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, but the potential sentences could be reduced, the plea agreement said.
G Herbo’s lawyer was not immediately reached for comment Friday.
The plea agreement still needs to be agreed to by a judge, and a hearing is set for later this month, court records show.
In May 2021, G Herbo was charged with one count of making false statements to a federal official, prosecutors said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, he lied to a federal agent in November 2018, telling the agent that he never worked with or was assisted by one of the co-defendants in the case, a rap promoter, prosecutors said.
G Herbo allegedly told the federal agent he never gave the promoter any money, received anything of value from him and had no direct relationship with the promoter, prosecutors alleged.
Prosecutors, however, said he provided money and received services from the promoter that included “private jet charters, luxury accommodations, and exotic car rentals.”
G Herbo also frequently directly contacted the promoter through “phone conversations, text messages and Instagram messages,” prosecutors said.
The promoter used a stolen account to fly the rapper and others on charter jets to places like Austin, Texas, and a villa in Jamaica, according to the 2020 indictment.
That indictment also said the defendants used the stolen credit cards for goods and services that included “trips on private jets, private yacht charters, private chef and security guard services, designer puppies, limousine and chauffeur services, and commercial airlines flights,” the Justice Department said.
They obtained the stolen credit card information from the dark web and shared the information through text messages, social media messages, emails or through telephone chats, the indictment said.
G Herbo has been named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 music list. He released his debut mix tapes “Welcome to Fazoland” and “Pistol P Project” in 2014 — both named for friends who had been killed in Chicago.
Wright’s album, “PTSD,” peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard charts in March 2020, NBC Chicago reported.
He also started a program in Chicago called Swervin’ Through Stress aimed at giving city youth tools to help them through mental health issues
Madelyn Urabe and The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
