Pretty Ricky’s Baby Blue Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for PPP Loan Fraud

Baby Blue of Pretty Ricky was sentenced Dec. 16 to 20 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The “Grind with Me” artist admitted to obtaining a PPP loan of $426,717 for his company, Throwbackjersey.com LLC, using falsified documents and false information. Baby Blue, whose given name is Diamond Smith, then obtained another PPP loan of $708,065 for his other company, Blue Star Records LLC, using falsified documents and false information.

According to the Department of Justice, Smith admitted to using the money to fund his lavish lifestyle. He used the proceeds at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in South Florida and on luxury items, including a Ferrari, which was seized at the time of his arrest. In addition, he also paid more than $250,000 to two men who pleaded guilty last week to orchestrating a nationwide PPP scam. James R. Stote of Hollywood, FL and Phillip J. Augustin of Coral Springs, FL assisted Baby Blue with preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan applications.

Baller Alert reached out to Baby Blue for a statement regarding his sentence, in which he said, “the judge was fair.”

Baby Blue was ordered to pay $1,111345.23 in restitution and $1,134,782 in forfeiture in addition to his term of imprisonment.