Rapper Chad Focus is heading to prison for over two years, after he used a stolen credit card to spend millions, to underwrite his Hip-Hop career.
The Feds handed the rapper a stiff sentence over a conspiracy that started in January of 2015 and continued up until August of 2018.
Chad Focus worked for a company called Company 1 as a Search Engine Optimization expert from 2011 until 2018 when his scam unraveled. The rapper was responsible for promoting and marketing Company 1, so he was given an American Express company card, to use for business expenses.
Instead, Chad Focus and four of his friends used the AMEX card to rack up over $4.1 million in purchases to promote his rap career, and his record label, Focus Music Entertainment.
Chad Focus confessed to buying studio equipment, instruments, and studio time. In his quest to chase clout, he also paid for followers, likes, and views on several social media platforms.
His larceny did not stop there. Chad also purchased billboards around the country to promote himself which featured him surrounded by heaps of cash with the words “Get to the money…” and another one that read “Chad Focus. I will teach you how to be rich.”
Chad Focus also wasted another $300,000 on travel expenses, hotels, airfare, and other charges in an attempt to launch his failed career.
To pull off the scheme, Chad Focus utilized computer software to change the entries on the AMEX billing statements. He also forged the signature of his supervisor on statements to make it seem as if he received approval for most of his purchases.
Now, Chad Focus, 33, will spend the next 33 months in a Federal prison, 12 months of home confinement, and another three years on supervised release.
The “rapper” will also have to figure out to pay $4,142,435.31 in restitution to Company 1.