One of the members of the popular R&B group Pretty Ricky could be turning in his microphone for prison scrubs.
Diamond Blue Smith is accused of being involved in a scheme that netted more than $24 million in ill-gotten funds from a Paycheck Protection Program scam.
Blue allegedly ran the scam with Tonye C. Johnson, 28, an owner of a Pennsylvania towing company.
According to a federal complaint, Blue forged documents and obtained over $400,000 for a company he called Throwbackjersey.com. His larceny didn’t stop there according to the Feds.
After the first loan, Blue, 36, received another loan in the amount of 708,000 for his label, Blue Star Records.
Once he had the cash, Blue went on a spending spree and copped a Ferrari which cost almost $100,000. He also withdrew over $250,000 from a bank account.
According to the criminal complaint, the overarching scheme involved 90 fraudulent applications as Blue, and his co-conspirator would run their scam for other people to get kickbacks.
The “Love & Hip Hop” star and 11 other defendants are charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.