New York Jets fans were shocked and disappointed after former wide receiver Josh Bellamy was arrested and sentenced to three years in federal prison for COVID-19 relief fraud after he obtained over $1.2 million through a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
For context, Joshua J. Bellamy, a resident of St. Petersburg, Florida, who played for the Jets starting in March 2019, was arrested on December 13, 2021, after he pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida Court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Documents related to the case revealed that Bellamy had gotten a loan for $1,246,565 for Drip Entertainment LLC, his company, by falsifying documents that he submitted to the SBA. In addition, Bellamy admitted in court that he used the funds to pay for expensive jewelry and a stay at a luxury hotel.
Before his arrest, Bellamy had an eight-season-long career in the NFL. According to coverage from ESPN, the player started his pro football stint with Kansas City in 2012, moving to San Diego and Washington before playing five seasons with the Chicago Bears starting in 2014. From there, Bellamy started his tenure with the Jets. Throughout his career, he had 78 receptions for 1,019 yards and five touchdowns.
Regarding Bellamy’s case, a statement released by the IRS detailed how the former NFL player admitted that he had paid over $311,000 to an alleged co-conspirator named James Stote, with Bellamy explaining that Stote helped him prepare and submit a fraudulent loan application to the SBA. The IRS’s statement revealed that Bellamy was not the only Floridian whom Stote helped commit fraud.
In addition to co-conspiring with Bellamy, James Stote reportedly partnered with Yashicah Bain of Miramar, Florida, to commit a similar form of fraud, with Bain pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on September 30, 2021, and being sentenced to two years in federal prison on December 9. According to the IRS, Bain obtained a PPP loan that totaled $415,232 for her company, Microblading Brow Studio LLC, using the same fraudulent scheme that Bellamy and Stote perpetrated.
Testifying in court, Bain admitted that she, too, had given Stote a kickback — in this case, $28,000 — to Stote for helping her commit fraud. In addition, Bain confirmed in the Southern Florida District Court that she used her fraudulently obtained PPP loan to give money to associates who never actually worked for her company.
As for Stote, he was reportedly charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud on June 24, 2020. According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s office, Stote was sentenced to six and a half years in prison on May 26, 2022, along with Phillip J. Augustin, who had worked alongside Stote to create what the press release described as “a massive COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.”
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According to the same press release, 25 people have been charged for their participation in Stote and Augustin’s scheme, including residents of Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina. At the time of this writing, Bellamy, Stote, and Augustin are still serving their sentences in federal prison, with Stote ordered to pay over $10 million in restitution alongside his sentence.
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