Rapper NBA YoungBoy pleads guilty for prescription drug fraud ring in Utah: Reports

Posted by Admin November 19, 2024 NBA

Rapper NBA YoungBoy has pleaded guilty to being involved in a Utah pharmacy drug ring, according to reports.

The 25-year-old rapper, born Kentrell Gaulden, pleaded guilty to four counts of felony identity fraud and felony forgery, reduced to Class A misdemeanors, and six counts of misdemeanor unlawful pharmacy conduct, according to Utah’s KTVX and KSL-TV. Gaulden pleaded “no contest” to remaining charges of identity fraud, pharmacy fraud and forgery, KSL reported.

Gaulden avoided jail time and will instead pay a $25,000 fine as part of a plea deal, the outlets reported.

Logan District Judge Spencer Walsh suspended the Louisiana-born rapper’s prison sentence in light of a separate Utah case where he is anticipated to receive a sentence of 27 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised probation for related charges, the outlets reported.

Police arrested Gaulden, also known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again, in Utah amid house arrest in April.

Inmate records reviewed by USA TODAY at the time showed the rapper was arrested in Cache County on six charges, including unlawful activity, procuring or attempting to procure drugs, identity fraud, forgery, possession of controlled substances and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person. He was later charged with the aforementioned federal crimes and taken into federal custody, KSL reported.

The “Make No Sense” rapper had been on 24-hour house arrest in Utah since October 2021, granted by a judge in a separate federal case, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY.

The rapper has been involved in numerous criminal cases, including two attempted murder charges in 2016, when he was 17 years old. The charges were reduced to aggravated assault with a firearm, according to WAFB in Louisiana, which led to a suspended 10-year prison term plus probation. Other cases include a 2018 assault and kidnapping, a 2019 assault and battery lawsuit and a 2019 shooting in Miami.

Amid a 2020 federal drug and firearm case in Louisiana, Gaulden was arrested in March 2021 for alleged possession of a weapon in Los Angeles. He went to trial for the Los Angeles case in July 2022 and was acquitted of the charges, per court records. The rapper pleaded guilty to the federal gun charge earlier this year, court records reviewed by USA TODAY show.

Contributing: Naledi Ushe