On Wednesday, Chicago drill rapper G Herbo and his associates were charged with fraud for allegedly conspiring to defraud multiple businesses with stolen credit cards over the past four years. Per the Chicago Tribune, G Herbo, born Herbert Wright III; his music promoter, Antonio Strong; and various members of their crew have been accused of using “stolen identifications to charge more than a million dollars’ worth of exotic services over a four-year period.†The exotic services allegedly purchased illegally include private jets, private yacht charters, limousine rides, exotic-car rentals including a Bentley CGTC and Maybach S600, a vacation at a villa in Jamaica, and two designer puppies Wright purchased from a dealer in Michigan in 2017. The 14-count indictment, filed in Springfield, Massachusetts, charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identify theft.
Under his rap moniker G Herbo, the 25-year-old Wright has made a name for himself in Chicago’s drill scene and attended high school with the late rapper King Von, who was shot and killed in Atlanta this past November. Wright appeared on Forbes’ “30 Under 30†list of musicians this past week and recently performed his hit “PTSD†with Chance the Rapper on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. After appearing on the Forbes list, Wright posted an Instagram with the caption, “NEVER PAID ATTENTION 2 ACCOLADES … CANâ€T START NOW … & I CANâ€T STOP NOW!!†In a statement to the Chicago Tribune regarding the indictment, Wright’s attorney said, “No comment.â€
Update, December 9: G Herbo pleaded not guilty to the charges during a virtual trial, the Chicago Tribune reported on December 9. He faces up to six years for an array of fraud charges. Currently free on an unsecured $75,000 bond in California, Wright was also granted a request to travel to New Jersey to visit his pregnant fiancée, Taina Williams. Wright’s manager, Joseph “JB†Bowden, signed to pay an additional $25,000 cash bond for Wright to travel out of state, according to the Tribune. Also, the judge ordered Wright not to speak about the case with an Atlanta ex whom he shares a child with, as she is a witness in the case.