Rapper who rapped about bilking unemployment gets arrested for bilking unemployment

| October 20, 2020

“Nuke Bizzle”, genius that he is, has been caught by his own music video.

A rapper who boasted in a YouTube music video about getting rich from committing unemployment benefits fraud was arrested today on federal charges of carrying out that very scheme by fraudulently applying for more than $1.2 million in jobless benefits, including by using stolen identities.

Fontrell Antonio Baines, 31, who uses the stage name “Nuke Bizzle,” of Memphis, Tennessee and who currently resides in the Hollywood Hills, was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint alleging a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Baines is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

Baines allegedly exploited the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provision of the CARES Act, which is designed to expand access to unemployment benefits to self-employed workers, independent contractors, and others who would not otherwise be eligible.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Baines possessed and used debit cards pre-loaded with unemployment benefits administered by the California Employment Development Department (EDD). The debit cards were issued in the names of third-parties, including identity theft victims. The applications for these debit cards listed addresses to which Baines had access in Beverly Hills and Koreatown.

Evidence gathered during the investigation established that at least 92 debit cards that had been pre-loaded with more than $1.2 million in fraudulently obtained benefits were mailed to these addresses, according to the affidavit. Baines and his co-schemers allegedly accessed more than $704,000 of these benefits through cash withdrawals, including in Las Vegas, as well as purchases of merchandise and services.

The affidavit further alleges that Baines bragged about his ability to defraud the EDD in a music video posted on YouTube and in postings to his Instagram account, under the handles “nukebizzle1” and “nukebizzle23.” For example, Baines appears in a music video called “EDD” in which he boasts about doing “my swagger for EDD” and, holding up a stack of envelopes from EDD, getting rich by “go[ing] to the bank with a stack of these” – presumably a reference to the debit cards that come in the mail. A second rapper in the video intones, “You gotta sell cocaine, I just file a claim….”

On September 23, Las Vegas police arrested Baines, who had in his possession eight debit cards, seven of which were in the names of other persons, the affidavit states.

A complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The criminal complaint alleges three felony offenses – 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.

Source; US Attorney’s Office Central District of California

Category: "Teh Stoopid", "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Crime

17 Comments
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Deckie

I hope fo shizzle the bizzle gets sentenced to the max in the jizzail.

Word.

FuzeVT

Indeed

ChipNASA

And that’s a wrap guys…..someone hit the lights.
I’m not even gonna try to “izzle” it.
I’m too tragically white. I’m going to be satisfied owning *that* shit.

A Proud Infidel®™

And what’s even more,
He pick up the soap for Bubba and Thor

Wilted Willy

Snoop Dog would be so proud!!!

penguinman000

Imagine a program so rife with abuse folks make rap music videos about it. Then imagine the same state government deciding to expand similar programs.

Wait, we don’t have to imagine. We just have to read the news about California.

I’ve always wondered at what point these decisions go from being policy to criminal activity for politicians.

5th/77th FA

And this is just one of the ones that got caught. How many others are out there that weren’t stoopid enough to make a rap video of ripping off the taxpayer? He getting a head start on his reparations? And while we are at it, let’s question the wisdom of sending out preloaded debit cards with an average of 14K USD on them.

This is why we can’t have nice things. And the taxpayer is in debt, because of the federal/state governments, to the tune of trillions of dollars.

rgr769

Tacking $600 per week onto each state’s unemployment benefit was a major invitation to fraudsters, in addition to its motivation of people with low paying jobs to stay off work until the benefits ran out.

26Limabeans

The FIRST rule of bilking is keep your mouth shut.

Ret_25X

that’s the first rule of almost everything!

AW1Ed

Since he went to all this trouble to incriminate himself, any bets on him defending himself in court, and posting the proceedings to YouTube?

Ret_25X

1.2 million divided by 92 accounts is around 13K per.

Not sure…but that seems like a lot of money per account…

No wonder it is defrauded by folks…wow.

The Other Whitey

Have fun in the hoosegow, dickhead. Your cornhole is gonna be nice and loose by the time you get out!

Having been a victim of identity theft, I really, really hate those who do it. It’s a particularly chickenshit form of theft, as it’s usually done without ever facing the victim. The crime of a coward, so to speak.

Green Thumb

What a clown.

Guess he will singing in he yearly Christmas Prison Pageant.

NHSparky

And here they said nukes were smart…not always.

A Proud Infidel®™

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I wonder if he’s already picking up the soap for Bubba & Thor?

Skippy

The charges will probably get dropped
After Crazy Biden and and Latchkey Harris
Win the election LMFAO !!!!!