Founding Geto Boys member, Willie D, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for his involvement in the bogus sale of iPhones and other electronics in Houston.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the 42-year-old rapper (real name: William James Dennis) entered a guilty plea on Friday (Dec. 18) over fake electronics sales through a company called Texas One Wireless.
In May, Willie was indicted on federal wire fraud charges after authorities caught him posing as an electronic salesman, where he sold iPhones and other gadgets to international customers on eBay.
Original reports said that Willie D conducted business via e-mail with interested customers, instructing them to transfer payments to his bank account. He then emailed over tracking numbers to his buyers for items he hadn’t even shipped. When nothing arrived, he told the customer he filed complaints with the U.S. Postal Service and other carriers.
The FBI got involved, opening an investigation, after several victims reported that they purchased items from his company, but never received them, nor did they receive a refund.
In all, 29 people were defrauded for about $132,303 between September 2008 and April 2009.
In court on Friday morning, the rapper confessed, and is now set to be sentenced on April 23, 2010. He is currently free on bond, pending his sentencing date.
Willie faces up to 20 years in prison (federal time, with no chance of parole), followed by up to a five-year-term of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $250,000 for the wire-fraud conviction.
As part of his plea agreement, he’s been ordered to make full restitution at or before his sentencing.