Chicago rapper G Herbo has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and lying to federal agents after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2020.
G Herbo, born Herbert Wright, was accused along with five associates — including promotor Antonio Strong — of using stolen identities to rack up to $1.5 million in fraudulent charges including private jet excursions, a trip to a villa in Jamaica, and “designer puppies,” according to the Chicago Tribune. The case was charged in Massachusetts as one of the private airline owners is based in the state.
A lawyer for Wright did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
While the plea deal still needs to be approved by the judge, Wright is set to formally plead guilty in July. He faces up to 20 years in prison, but is likely to get a lower sentence with a potential term of probation, according to court records.
“Wright used the proceeds of these frauds to travel to various concert venues and to advance his career by posting photographs and/or videos of himself on the private jets, in the exotic cars, and at the Jamaican villa,” alleged the plea agreement made public on Wednesday. “In addition, Wright helped Strong obtain designer puppies from a business by falsely representing to the business that Wright was the actual purchaser of the puppies and by concealing Strong’s actual identity from the business.”
Along with Wright, Strong also signed on to the plea agreement. The charges allege that in November 2018, Wright lied to a U.S. federal agent regarding his relationship with the Chicago rap promoter, who is accused of being the mastermind behind the identity theft scheme.
Wright claimed to have never provided Strong money or to have received anything of value from the promoter, per the Tribune. However, the charges allege that since at least 2016, Strong had given Wright exotic car rentals, private jet charters, and other valuable goods. Phone conversations, and text and Instagram messages also revealed that the pair were frequently in direct contact, per the charges.
Wright will pay $140,000 in restitution to a number of alleged victims, including $10,458 to Woof Woof Puppies in Michigan, according to the plea agreement terms.