G Herbo will avoid prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges stemming from an alleged scheme that used stolen credit card info to pay for private jet excursions, vacations, car rentals, and even “designer puppies.”
The rapper, real name Herbert Wright, was sentenced to three years probation in Massachusetts District Court on Thursday. He will also have to pay $139,968 in restitution for purchases tied to the alleged scheme, and forfeit the same amount, plus a $5,500 fine.
The sentencing was a massive win for Wright, who pleaded guilty last summer to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one charge making false statements to a federal official last July in Massachusetts District Court. In a sentencing memo, per the Associated Press, prosecutors sought at least a year in prison, plus 36 months of supervised release and a $55,000 fine.
A lawyer for Wright did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
According to prosecutors, Wright and five associates — including the promoter Antonio Strong — allegedly used stolen credit cards and cardholder information to defraud businesses and individuals. Wright allegedly asked Strong to make various lavish purchases from him, and prosecutors have alleged that Strong used the stolen credit card info to buy these items. (Strong has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.)
Wright’s requests allegedly included multiple private jet charters, exotic car rentals, two designer Yorkie puppies (for over $10,000), and a $14,500 villa in Jamaica. Prosecutors cited a text conversation, in which Wright asked Strong to extend a car rental period: “Extend that whip bro that b**** ain’t for no month why you be lying […] You know it don’t be costing you s*** to do that s*** dude!”
The original indictment for Wright and the other defendants came down in Dec. 2020. A few months later, Wright was charged with making false statements to a federal officer after he denied having any kind of working, personal, or business relationship with Strong.
Amidst his legal troubles, Wright has continued to record and release music. In 2021, he dropped his fourth studio album, 25, while the following year he shared Survivor’s Remorse. Last year, G Herbo dropped the mixtape, Strictly 4 My Fans II, along with a handful of singles and collaborations.
