A local music promoter has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for his role in a nationwide fraud conspiracy involving Chicago rapper G Herbo.
Antonio Strong, 32, of Orland Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud.
On Wednesday, Strong was sentenced to 34 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Strong was also ordered to forfeit over $2.1 million in assets to pay restitution of roughly the same amount.
A federal indictment handed down in October 2020 accused Strong, G Herbo — whose real name is Herbert Wright III — and four other co-defendants of using stolen credit card details and IDs to pay for private jets, expensive meals, luxury hotels and designer pets.
The conspiracy allegedly began in March 2016, with the co-defendants obtaining stolen credit card information from “dark web sites” and other places. Since this information was generally authentic, businesses and individuals would process their transactions and provide the services or goods.
The group also used fake IDs, driver’s licenses and email accounts in the names of aliases and real businesses, the indictment stated.
During this period, Strong presented himself as a Chicago-area music promoter, according to a statement from federal authorities. Strong falsely stated that he was from Universal Music, Sony Music, Epic Music and other real and fictitious companies.
In one instance, Strong contacted a pet company around Nov. 29, 2017, to order two designer puppies for Wright with a stolen credit card, the indictment stated.
The same stolen credit card was used to pay for a car service to deliver the puppies to Chicago, according to the indictment.
In another case, Wright allegedly sent a direct message to Strong over Instagram around July 7, 2019, requesting a reservation at a private villa in Jamaica, the indictment stated. Strong allegedly made the reservation using stolen payment information, and Wright allegedly stayed at the villa with his associates from July 7 to July 11.
Earlier this year, Wright was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $139,968 after previously pleading guilty.
Two other co-defendants, Joseph Williams and Demario Sorrells, have also been sentenced to three years of probation.
Another co-defendant, Terrence Bender, is scheduled to plead guilty next month. The remaining defendant, Steven Hayes Jr., is facing trial, according to authorities.