Business ProfileforThrowback Jerseys, LLC.

UPDATE As of December 16, 2021:

Baby Blue has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for his involvement in a $24 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. Baby Blue, whose real name is Diamond Smith, was charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud after filing for more than $24 million in fraudulent COVID loan applications, according to a press release issued by the Department of Justice, in October 2020. 

The former Love & Hip Hop: Miami star did not act alone. Tonye C. Johnson, 28, a Pennsylvania towing company owner, was also charged for his participation in the scheme. The press release stated that both Baby Blue and Tonye received funds from “forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.”

Blue was arrested on October 5, 2020. He allegedly received a $426,717 PPP loan for his company, Throw Back Jersey LLC, by using falsified documents. After completing the loan, Baby Blue then received another PPP loan of $708,065 for his other company, Blue Star Records LLC, using falsified docs. Blue allegedly copped a $96,000 Ferrari, purchased multiple luxury items, and withdrew $271,805 in loan proceeds. Authorities seized the  Ferrari, at the time of Blue‘s arrest.

The 20-month prison sentence was handed down last week. The 37-year-old singer was also ordered to pay over $2 million in restitution and forfeiture.

LINK: https://allaboutthetea.com/2021/12/27/baby-blue-sentenced-to-20-months-in-prison-for-covid-relief-fraud-scheme/

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UPDATE As of December 16, 2021:
Diamond Smith, 37, of Miramar, was sentenced to 20 months after pleading guilty on Aug. 4 in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Smith, a recording artist, admitted to obtaining a PPP loan of $426,717 for his company, Throwbackjersey.com LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Upon completion of that loan, Smith then sought and obtained another PPP loan of $708,065 for his other company, Blue Star Records LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Smith admitted to using PPP loan proceeds at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and on luxury items, including a Ferrari. Authorities seized the Ferrari at the time of Smith's arrest. Smith further admitted that he paid more than $250,000 to Stote and Augustin as kickbacks for their assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan applications. Smith was ordered to pay $1,111345.23 in restitution and $1,134,782 in forfeiture in addition to his term of imprisonment.

LINK: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-florida-men-plead-guilty-35-million-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme

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UPDATE: As of November 29, 2021
A federal jury convicted a Florida woman on Nov. 24 for fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Keyaira Bostic, 32, of Pembroke Pines, obtained a PPP loan of $84,515 for her company, I Am Liquid Inc., based on false information about the company's number of employees and average payroll, and based on false supporting tax and bank documents. Bostic also paid more than $21,000 to an alleged co-conspirator, James Stote, as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan application. The evidence also showed that Bostic, in exchange for kickbacks, referred other co-conspirators to the scheme on whose behalf Stote submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications. Those loan applicants sought more than $3.3 million in fraudulent PPP loans and obtained nearly $2 million in PPP loan proceeds.

Bostic was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud. She was found not guilty of bank fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 3, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conviction. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Stote was charged by information on Nov. 10 with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His case remains pending.

LINK: /opa/pr/florida-woman-convicted-covid-19-relief-fraud

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UPDATE: As of July 30, 2021
Andre Clark, 48, of Miramar, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on May 14, 2021. According to court documents, Clark admitted that he obtained a PPP loan of $488,565 on behalf of his company, Top Choice LLC, based on falsified information and documents that a co-conspirator, James Stote, submitted on his behalf. Clark also admitted to recruiting friends and associates whom he referred to Stote for the purpose of submitting additional fraudulent PPP loan applications, sometimes in exchange for kickbacks. Clark admitted to seeking $6,774,999 in fraudulent PPP loans through other conspirators that he referred to the scheme. In addition to the prison sentence, Clark was ordered to pay $2,975,086 in restitution.

On July 29, 2021, Tonye Johnson, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. According to court documents, Johnson admitted to obtaining a fraudulent PPP loan of $389,627 for his company, Synergy Towing & Transport LLC, based on falsified information and documents. And on July 13, 2021, Tiara Walker, 38, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison. According to court documents, Walker admitted to obtaining a fraudulent PPP loan of $258,575 for her company, Utilization Review Pros LLC, based on falsified information and documents. Both Johnson and Walker falsely inflated the number of employees and monthly payroll for their companies, and they worked with Stote and other co-conspirators to obtain their fraudulent loans.

James Stote was charged by complaint on June 24, 2020, with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and his case remains pending.

LINK: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-sentenced-covid-19-relief-fraud

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As of October 6, 2020, Press Release Number:
20-1059, the department of Justice (DOJ) charged

Diamond Blue Smith, of Miramar, Florida, and Tonye C. Johnson, of Flourtown, Pennsylvania, were charged in federal criminal generally filed in the Southern District of Florida with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

Smith was arrested and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Regina D. Cannon of the Northern District of Georgia.
Johnson was arrested on Oct. 1, 2020, and appeared on Oct. 2, 2020, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry S. Perkin of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The generally allege, which were unsealed today, allege that Smith and Johnson conspired with others to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans.

Smith, a recording artist, is alleged to have obtained a PPP loan of $426,717 for his company, Throwbackjersey.com LLC, using falsified documents.
Upon completion of that loan, Smith then sought and obtained another PPP loan of $708,065 for his other company, Blue Star Records LLC, using falsified documents.
Smith allegedly purchased a Ferrari for $96,000 and made other luxury purchases using PPP loan proceeds.
Authorities seized the Ferrari at the time of Smith's arrest.
He is also alleged to have withdrawn $271,805 in loan proceeds.
The complaint further alleges that Smith sought PPP loans on behalf of others in order to receive kickbacks for those confederates.

Johnson is alleged to have obtained a PPP loan of $389,627 for his own company, Synergy Towing & Transport LLC, using falsified documents.
The complaint alleges that Johnson then paid a portion of the loan proceeds to co-conspirators in the scheme.

The generally allege that Smith and Johnson conspired with others to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans.
Early in their scheme, Smith and Johnson's co-conspirator, Phillip J. Augustin, allegedly obtained a fraudulent PPP loan for his talent management company using falsified documents. After submitting that application, Augustin then began to work with other co-conspirators on a scheme to submit numerous fraudulent PPP loan applications for confederate loan applicants, in order to receive kickbacks for obtaining the forgivable loans for them.
The generally allege that the scheme involved the preparation of at least 90 fraudulent applications, most of which were submitted.

Augustin, Smith, Johnson, and other conspirators in the scheme are alleged to have applied for PPP loans that are together worth more than $24 million.
Many of those loan applications were approved and funded by financial institutions, paying out at least $17.4 million.

The other 11 defendants allegedly involved in this scheme whose generally were previously unsealed are the following:

Joshua J. Bellamy, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on Sept. 9, 2020, in the Southern District of Florida with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud;

Tiara Walker, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on Sept. 3, 2020, in the Southern District of Florida, with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud;

Damion O. Mckenzie, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on Aug. 3, 2020, in the Southern District of Florida with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud;

Andre M. Clark, of Miramar, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on Aug. 3, 2020, in the Southern District of Florida with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud;

Keyaira Bostic, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on Aug. 3, 2020, in the Southern District of Florida with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud;

Phillip J. Augustin, of Coral Springs, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on July 28, 2020, in the Northern District of Ohio with wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and obstruction;

Wyleia Nashon Williams, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on July 28, 2020, in the Northern District of Ohio with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud;

James R. Stote, of Hollywood, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on June 24, 2020, in the Northern District of Ohio with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud;

Ross Charno, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on June 24, 2020, in the Northern District of Ohio with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud;

Deon D. Levy, of Bedford, Ohio, was charged in a federal complaint filed on June 8, 2020, in the Northern District of Ohio with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and

Abdul-Azeem Levy, of Cleveland, Ohio was charged in a federal complaint filed on June 8, 2020, in the Northern District of Ohio with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

For further assistance please contact:
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Department Comment Line: 202-353-1555
Department of Justice Main Switchboard: 202-514-2000
TTY/ASCII/TDD: 800-877-8339 (or Federal IP Relay Service)
https://www.justice.gov

LINK: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-recording-artist-and-pennsylvania-man-charged-role-24-million-covid-relief-fraud