He rapped about COVID fraud. Now he faces prison — for COVID fraud, feds say

A Tennessee rapper agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud and firearms charges after posting a YouTube music video rapping about committing pandemic-related unemployment benefits fraud, federal officials said in a July 6 news release.

Fontrell Antonio Baines, 33, who goes by “Nuke Bizzle,” agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, according to the Department of Justice. The plea is expected in coming days in the United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

Between July 2020 and September 2020, Baines participated in a scheme to fraudulently gain unemployment benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provision under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), his plea agreement says.

The CARES act was passed in March 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The act provided more than $2 trillion in economic relief to people in the United States as they coped with the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. Within the CARES Act was a new program, PUA, which was established to provide unemployment benefits to people who did not qualify for regular unemployment. Included in this program were self-employed workers.

Baines was accused of filing a series of applications for benefits with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) using different names and identities, some of which officials said he had stolen. Once the applications were approved, Baines would receive a pre-loaded debit card with relief money that he would then use for himself, according to the feds.

Baines boasted about his scheme in a YouTube music video for a song titled “EDD.” In the video, Baines sings about doing “my swagger for EDD” and references the debit cards that came in the mail as a means for getting rich.

In addition to a charge for mail fraud, Baines also faces an illegal firearms possession charge, the agreement says.

Because of previous criminal charges, Baines was prohibited from possessing any firearms. However, he admitted that in October 2020 he had a semi-automatic pistol with 14 rounds of ammunition, officials said.

Once his pleas are entered, Baines will face up to 30 years in prison for both charges combined, according to the Department of Justice. He also agreed to forfeit $56,750, which was already taken by law enforcement.

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