Josh Bellamy was charged for obtaining about $1.2 million in COVID-19 relief loans.

The U.S. Department of Justice arrested and charged him Thursday morning alleging that he used funding for the coronavirus for his personal benefit. Bellamy is being charged for wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud.

The government claims the former New York Jets wide receiver applied for about $24 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under his company, Drip Entertainment LLC.

Bellamy is being accused of conspiring with Phillip J. Augustin, to pull off the grand scheme that saw him use federal funding for trips to the casino and “purchased over $104,000 in luxury goods using proceeds expensive items,” such as Gucci and Dior. 

“The complaint alleges that Bellamy conspired with 10 others to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans. Early in the scheme, Phillip J. Augustin allegedly obtained a fraudulent PPP loan for his talent management company using falsified documents,” the U.S. Department of Justice contends.

“After submitting that application, Augustin then began to work with other co-conspirators, including Bellamy, on a scheme to submit numerous fraudulent PPP loan applications for confederate loan applicants, in order to receive kickbacks for obtaining the forgivable loans for them.”

This is another hit for Josh Bellamy who was let go by the New
York Jets and missed most of the 2020 season due to a shoulder injury.