Photograph: Ray Hushpuppi /Facebook/SCREENSHOT/DUBAI MEDIA OFFICE TWITTER VIDEO
In the world of social media, influencers often strive to project an image of opulence and success to attract followers and secure brand deals. However, some influencers have crossed the line, resorting to criminal activities to fund their extravagant lifestyles.
Here are seven influencers who chased social media clout, and got federal and state criminal charges instead.
Danielle Miller, a Florida-based Instagram influencer with over 34,000 followers, found herself in hot water after using stolen identities to obtain more than $1 million in pandemic-related loans. Miller used the fraudulently obtained funds to charter a private jet and rent a luxury apartment, flaunting her lavish lifestyle on social media. In 2023, she was sentenced to five years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts said in a statement.
Miller used the stolen identities of more than 10 people to receive pandemic-relief loans, NBC News reported.
Ramon Abbas, known as “Hushpuppi” and on Instagram where the Nigerian influencer had over 2 million followers, lived a life of luxury while engaging in money laundering activities. In 2021 it was found Abbas was involved in various cyber-enabled fraud schemes, including business email compromise scams and online bank heists. He received an 11-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay over $1.7 million in restitution for his crimes, Mashable reported.
Tennessee Hip-Hop artist Fontrell Antonio Baines, also known as Nuke Bizzle, gained notoriety after boasting about defrauding the U.S. government’s coronavirus relief fund for $1.2 million in a music video, titled “EDD,” posted on YouTube. In 2020, Baines was arrested on charges of access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Nevada Hip-Hop artist Kenjuan McDaniel found himself behind bars after allegedly confessing to a murder in his song lyrics posted on YouTube, CNN reported. In 2023, McDaniel was arrested on a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon after detectives linked his lyrics to a real-life crime, a news release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.
Nykees Campbell, leader of the YNB Stretch Gang in South Dallas, received a 12-year prison sentence for distributing cocaine in 2018, the Dallas News reported. Campbell’s own rap videos were used as evidence against him in court.
Nicole Fegan, an attorney representing Tenquarius Mender, a rapper Young Thug’s racketeering trial, was arrested on gang charges after allegedly warning a suspect about impending arrest and tampering with evidence. And she did it on social media. She posted rapping videos on Instagram and boasted about getting her clients off the hook. In February, she was arrested and charged with ‘participation in criminal street gang activity and criminal solicitation to commit the offense of tampering with evidence’ the district attorney’s office confirmed, The Daily Mail reported.
The federal trial of Tyree Conyers-Page, also known as Sir Maejor Page and formerly the head of the nonprofit Black Lives Matter (BLM) of Greater Atlanta, has entered a critical phase as the jury prepares to deliberate following a week of compelling testimony. The trial began April 4. The case went to the jury April 9. Page was arrested in September 2020.
Page, 35, faces charges of wire fraud and money laundering brought by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. Prosecutors allege that Page exploited increased donations following George Floyd’s murder by police to finance his own personal lifestyle, including purchasing a home and firearms, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
