Independent artists have to invest a lot of money in themselves for them to blow up and Baltimore singer Chad Focus (real name Chad Arrington) definitely realized this. According to Pitchfork, Focus is facing 20 years in prison after using a company credit card to fund his career. Charges on the table are conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Focus had gotten a buzz for his song “Dance with Me” in 2018 featuring T-Pain which landed on the Billboard charts. He used an American Express card and racked up $4.1 million in expenses. Among the things Focus spent on were audio equipment, increasing streams for his songs, and placing billboards across America.
Two other employees at the company he was working at are also being accused of falsifying credit card statements along with a supervisor’s signature to get the purchases approved. The company has since been able to pay off the $4.1 million. Focus was recently indicted by a Grand Jury on May 29.