Chicago rapper Herbert Wright, known by his stage name "G Herbo," has been handed down a sentence of three years' probation and faces a hefty payout for his role in a sweeping fraud conspiracy. Wright, 25, was also slapped with orders to pay restitution and forfeiture of $139,968 each, in addition to a $5,500 fine, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office statement.
Pulling off a life of luxury with the hollow glitz one might expect from a blockbuster rap video, Wright's reality came crashing down in a federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts, where Judge Mark G. Mastroianni prescribed the sentence. Wright's guilty plea in July of last year included one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of making false statements to a federal agent. Sporting a lavish lifestyle on social media, this sentence marks the justice system pressing its weight upon an individual who once flew high above the moral laws of financial integrity.
Originally indicted in December 2020, alongside five co-defendants including rap promoter Antonio Strong, Wright found himself entangled in a scheme that used stolen payment card account information to fuel an extravagant lifestyle costing nearly $140,000. Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy didn't mince words, declaring that "his lavish lifestyle was shamelessly built on deceit and fraud," as Wright posted boasting social media imagery of private jets, luxury cars, and a Jamaican villa gained through ignoble means.
The conspiracy reportedly unfolded from at least March 2017 through November 2018, seeing Wright and his cohorts exploit real payment card data across a spread of businesses and individuals in the United States. Offering Strong a request for luxury services like flights and "whips," Wright was provided these by fraud using the stolen payment card account information, which included over $80,000 in private jet charters and more than $34,000 in exotic car rentals. When confronting a federal agent in November 2018, Wright falsely claimed he never had dealings with Strong, a lie that was peeled back in the investigations, revealing consistent and cooperative links between the two.
With a guilty plea, Wright admitted his responsibility for the victim losses. As the cases against the other alleged conspirators move forward, including Strong who pleaded not guilty, they remain cloaked in the presumption of innocence. This episode of crime and punishment in the music industry sends a clear signal that flash and fame provide no shield against the repercussions of fraudulent action.
