On Thursday, September 10, Josh Bellamy was taken into custody after allegedly misusing government loans. The loans were sanctioned to help businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. He used the money to spend on expensive brands like Dior, Gucci and made casino trips.
Josh Bellamy was cut by New York Jets just two days back from the time of the arrest. He was accused of being a part of the scheme that people applied for a loan. The sum amount of PPP loans was more than $24 million and was intended for business owners to stay in business during the COVID-19.
Josh Bellamy Arrested for coronavirus loan fraud
According to prosecutors, neither Bellamy nor his co-conspirators used the money for business purposes. Josh Bellamy allegedly used up all the money buying things like jewelry, clothes, and gambling.
According to officials, Bellamy spent around $95,000 on custom jewelry, $2,014 at Dior, and $5,381 at Gucci. They also claimed that he lost more than $62,000 while going to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino recently.
Out of $24 million, Josh Bellamy and his folk received around $17.4 million as PPP loans. The conspiracy is complicated, but this is what it boils down to.
According to the officials, Bellamy didn’t only request to have PPP loans for his business but also gave false records. He was also going to recruit other people to apply for big loans, and when they got the sum form the government, he would take a sizable share.
According to how the prosecutors portrayed Bellamy, he does have a business of his own. However, he has not been an active part of the company since 2019. The prosecutors said that there are bank records that show Bellamy made massive withdrawals lately. He took out a sum of $302,800 from May to July.
The officials say that Bellamy executed this scheme when preparing for NFL 2020. If Josh Bellamy gets jailed for bank fraud, he might have to stay in prison for a long time – it could be decades.
