TAMPA, Fla. — Former NFL wide receiver Josh Bellamy has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to illegally receiving over $1 million in COVID-19 relief money, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.
The scheme involved the 32-year-old obtaining $1.2 million for his company, Drip Entertainment LLC, through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed under coronavirus aid packages passed by the U.S. government.
Instead, according to the DOJ, Bellamy admitted to spending more than $104,000 in luxury goods from Dior, Gucci and retail jewelers and more than $62,000 at trip to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Bellamy also allegedly withdrew more than $302,000.
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As party of his sentence, Bellamy must pay $1,246,565 in restitution and spend 37 months in jail.
In addition to Bellamy, a Miramar woman was sentenced to two years in federal prison in the same scheme. According to court documents, Yashica Bain, 38, of Miramar, pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
As part of the fraud scheme, Bain obtained a PPP loan of $415,232 for her company, Microblading Brow Studio LLC, using falsified documents and false information, according to the DOJ. Bain used the PPP loan proceeds to enrich herself and others who never worked for her company.
She falsely described those payments as "payroll" and "wages" to perpetrate this fraud, DOJ alleges. In addition to her prison sentence, Bain was ordered to serve three years of supervised released and pay $415,232 in restitution and $415,232 in forfeiture.
