Rapper Nuke Bizzle, who bragged about stealing COVID-19 benefits, will plead guilty to fraud, firearms charges

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Tennessee rapper Fontrell Antonio Baines, a.k.a. "Nuke Bizzle," has agreed to plead guilty to charges of fraud and illegal firearm possession after he bragged about obtaining fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment benefits.

In the 2020 song called "EDD" after California's Employment Development Department, Baines says, "I done got rich off of EDD."

"I gotta shoutout to Donald Trump. / I just might swipe me a lump sum," the rapper says in one verse. 

Baines, 33, will plead guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon after he admitted to attempting to steal about $1.25 million in benefits by filing 92 fraudulent public unemployment assistance (PUA) claims with EDD through the 2020 CARES Act, according to the Justice Department.

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Actual losses for the EDD and U.S. Treasury Department from Baines' scheming resulted in losses of nearly $705,000.

Las Vegas authorities initially arrested Baines in September 2020 after he was found carrying eight debit cards, seven of which were in different names.

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Baines is accused of obtaining the funds by using third-party names, including those belonging to identity theft victims. For example, Baines used the identity of a Missouri man who briefly attended school but never worked to apply for unemployment benefits. In September 2020, Baines withdrew about $2,500 from the Missouri man’s name.

Congress expanded those who were eligible for PUA funds under the CARES Act to self-employed workers, independent contractors and others who might not otherwise be eligible for the benefits amid the beginning of the pandemic.

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Baines also admitted to having an illegal semi-automatic pistol with 14 rounds of ammunition at his Hollywood Hills home in 2020.

The rapper faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for mail fraud and 10 years in federal prison for the illegal firearm charge. He has also agreed to forfeit nearly $57,000 previously seized by law enforcement, according to the DOJ.