Chicago rapper G Herbo was sentenced to three years’ probation by a federal judge on Thursday for using information from stolen credit cards to pay for a luxurious lifestyle that included private jets and designer puppies.
G Herbo, whose real name is Herbert Wright III, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to pay restitution totaling $139,968 and forfeit the same amount in assets, the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Massachusetts said.
The restitution is split among eight companies, including a handful of private jet businesses and a boutique puppy store called Woof Woof Puppies, according to the sentencing memo.
Wright, 28, signed an agreement in July of last year pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of lying to federal agents. As part of the guilty plea Wright admitted he was responsible for $139,878 in losses to victims. He was facing as much as 20 years in prison.
An indictment handed down in late 2020 accused Wright and five others of obtaining stolen credit card information from “dark web sites” and other places. They also used fake IDs, driver’s licenses and e-mail accounts in the names of aliases and real businesses to defraud people and companies, the indictment stated.
In one instance, Antonio Strong, identifying himself as Wright’s manager, 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.
Strong has pleaded not guilty in the case, prosecutors said.
Wright’s defense outlined his tumultuous upbringing in South Shore and highlighted his work in the community in a sentencing memo asking for probation.
“The Wright family’s neighborhood was plagued by gang violence — so much so that the police referred to the area as “Terror Town,” the memo states. “By the time Wright reached the age of seventeen, he had lost seventeen friends and relatives to violence.”
The memo states that Wright “deeply regrets his crimes” and he is now helping children in Chicago who share his background address their mental health through his “Swervin’ Through Stress” program.
The program “aims to de-stigmatize conversations around mental wellness among African American men by introducing and educating at an early age,” according to its website.
Several of Wright’s relatives and associates submitted character reference letters on his behalf, including former Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman, who said he’s known the rapper for the last decade.
“Having seen the positive changes and personal growth in Herb, I believe that he has the capacity to become a positive force for change,” Foreman wrote.
Wright grew into something of a hometown hero as a teenager in the early 2010s, helping lead Chicago’s drill music to international prominence alongside fellow rappers and collaborators Chief Keef and Lil Durk.
His music has been lauded for its no-frills, penetrative approach to the violent realities he faced growing up in the city, and, in more recent years, the toll that they took on his mental health.
