Two days ago (September 8), the New York Jets announced that they'd cut wide receiver Josh Bellamy. The bad news has kept on coming for the free agent as the former NFL player has been hit with federal charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. According to Yahoo Finance, Bellamy's legal troubles are tied to accusations that he defrauded the government after he took out a PPP Loan during the pandemic in order to help his business, Drip Entertainment LLC.
It's reported that the Department of Justice alleges that Josh Bellamy received $1.2 million for his company while also creating "90 fraudulently prepared [Payroll Protection Program] applications" for himself, friends, and family. He allegedly secured "payouts of at least $17.4 million." An investigation is said to have revealed that Bellamy spent $104K on Gucci and Dior as well as over $62K at a Hark Rock casino.
Bellamy was arrested today (September 10) in Florida. It's unclear how long of a sentence he's looking at, but reports state that if convicted, Bellamy could spend decades in prison. The football player has yet to publicly respond to the charges. Just yesterday (September 9) a contractor in Florida was also arrested for PPP Loan fraud and it's reported that he faces 30 years behind bars.
