Lil Wayne allegedly spent most of his $8.9 million Covid-19 relief grant on personal expenses like private jets, clothes, and “mystery women,” according to documents reviewed by Business Insider. The rapper is just one high-profile artist named in a report that exposes scores of wasteful charges from some of music’s biggest stars.
The grant was meant to help Lil Wayne pay the musicians and technicians in his touring group who could not earn their pay while social distancing made concerts impossible, as well as other “necessary and ordinary” business expenses.
Instead, the rapper used his taxpayer-funded payout to buy $460,000 of clothes and accessories from high-end brands like Gucci and Balenciaga, Business Insider reported.
He spent $5.3 million of the grant paying managers, accountants and attorneys, including settling a $2.1 million debt with his former manager, Cortez Bryant, Business Insider said.
He billed taxpayers $88,000 for a concert in Coachella, California on New Year’s Eve, 2021. But Instagram posts showed Lil Wayne partying on Sunset Boulevard the same night instead of performing at the show.
The rapper used another $15,000 on flights and hotel rooms for “women whose connection to Lil Wayne’s touring operation was unclear,” including a porn actress, according to Business Insider.
Lil Wayne was not the only one playing taxpayers like a fiddle.
Hip-hop artist Chris Brown received a $10 million grant and allegedly placed $5.1 million directly in his own bank account, Business Insider reported.
In addition, Brown billed taxpayers $80,000 for his 33rd birthday party in Los Angeles. The charges included hookahs, “nitrogen ice cream,” and repairs to couches damaged by burn holes.
Rapper Christopher Comstock, better known as Marshmello, received a $9.9 million grant. He pocketed the entire amount as “payroll” for himself, his manager told Business Insider in a letter.
Grunge legends Alice in Chains received a $4.1 million grant, $3.1 million of which went directly to the band’s three most prominent members, per Business Insider.
The money came from the Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, which gave up to $10 million to struggling musicians and concert venues to cover business expenses during the pandemic.
Because Lil Wayne and other artists’ revenue fell by at least 25% when they stopped touring during the pandemic, they were eligible for payouts. The grant rules did not direct the Small Business Administration to consider an awardee’s net worth — only their change in revenue.
Previous estimates have found that up to $1 trillion was lost to fraud during the pandemic. How much more was spent on absurd, but technically legal, purchases?
(The #WasteOfTheDay is from the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.)
