Maryland rapper ‘Chad Focus’ pleads guilty to $4.1 million federal wire fraud conspiracy

Rapper and entrepreneur Chad Arrington, aka “Chad Focus,” of Randallstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty this week in a Baltimore courtroom to a federal wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme to use a company credit card to make over $4.1 million in unauthorized purchases.  

The 32-year-old Arrington was employed by Company 1 as a Search Engine Optimization (“SEO”) Specialist from approximately 2011 to August 2018.  As an SEO Specialist, Arrington was responsible for promoting and marketing Company 1’s products and services online.  Company 1 assigned Arrington an American Express company credit card (the “credit card”) after Arrington signed an agreement in which he agreed to use the credit card only for business expenses related to Company 1.

Arrington admitted that from at least January 2015 through August 2018, he and four co-conspirators used the credit card for fraudulent purchases, including to promote his hip-hop artist alter-ego, Chad Focus and Focus Music Entertainment and to make unauthorized purchases that benefitted them each personally.

The co-conspirators were from Owings Mills, Maryland; York, Pennsylvania; Alexandria, Virginia; and Sarasota, Florida, respectively.  According to the plea agreement, Arrington used the credit card to make over $1.5 million in unauthorized purchases from entities and accounts controlled by Co-Conspirator 2 and Co-Conspirator 3, and then Co-Conspirator 2 and Co-Conspirator 3, in turn, kicked back hundreds of thousands of dollars to Arrington by funneling cash payments to Arrington and to accounts controlled by Arrington. 

In order to conceal the scheme, Arrington asked Co-Conspirator 1 and Co-Conspirator 4 to use computer software to make false entries on the credit card billing statements in order to conceal the recipient of the payments from Arrington’s supervisor and Company 1.  In addition, Arrington forged the signature of his supervisor on his credit card billing statements to make it appear as though he had received approval for certain purchases when, in fact, he had not.  Arrington then sent those false payment authorizations to other employees who relied on the authorizations to ultimately pay off the outstanding balance of the credit card. 

As part of his plea deal, Arrington will be required to pay restitution in the full amount of the victim’s losses, $4,142,435.31.

Arrington faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy.  His sentencing is scheduled for May 14, 2020.

(Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland)

Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter