Pretty Ricky’s Baby Blue is headed to prison. The 37-year-old singer, born Diamond Smith, will serve 20 months behind bars after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Complex notes Baby Blue was arrested for filing fraudulent loan applications to receive money from the Paycheck Protection Program. He was part of a scam that received $24 million from the program. Baby Blue used a company titled Throwbackjersey.com LLC, to receive a loan of over $400,000 and his Blue Star Records LLC for another $700,000. Baby Blue would use the money to purchase a Ferrari and during a visit at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Baby Blue has been ordered to pay $1,111,345 in restitution and $1,134,782 in forfeiture.
“We all make mistakes…I admit I made a mistake, I’ve learned from it the hard way and won’t make it again,” Baby Blue said on Instagram. “My mistakes don’t define me as a man and I will come out of this more than I was before. With more integrity, more character, more knowledge of my self, more wiser, more stronger!”