A Chicago-based celebrity barber and rapper was sentenced in Springfield federal court Thursday after he plead guilty in connection with a nationwide fraud scheme to score luxury perks for emerging rappers.
Terrence Bender, 32, aka “Dopeblends” or “Blends,” pleaded guilty in November to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $103,000 in both restitution and forfeiture.
The fraud victimized businesses and individuals across the United States, officials said. The money was used to buy a private jet chart flight, a New York City villa rental, designer puppies from a pet boutique and car insurance in Bender’s own name.
In December 2020, Bender was indicted by a federal grand jury along with five co-defendants, including rap promoter Antonio Strong, rap artists Herbert Wright and Joseph Williams, their associate Demario Sorrells and one other co-defendant.
Among the defendants convicted before Bender was famed rapper G Herbo, born Herbert Wright III, the most prominent of the contingent. Wright was sentenced to three years of probation in January 2024. The case landed in the Western Massachusetts court because one of the companies fleeced in the scheme is a charter flight company in this region.
Wright was a mostly passive player in the ring but was essentially the inspiration for the high-flying lifestyle — with most of the entourage capitalizing on the rapper’s rising fame.
Wright rose to prominence by the time he was 16. He has since been featured in Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30″ musicians roster and has performed on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon in November 2020.
During Wright’s sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow told a judge that Wright was undoubtedly the wealthiest person in the room — earning up to $70,000 a month through record deals.
“This was not a fraud where the defendant was stealing food to feed his family,” the prosecutor told U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni.
Investigators said the co-conspirators often used actual cardholders’ information to bolster the scheme.
“Generally, because the payment card information was authentic, the defrauded businesses and individuals successfully processed the fraudulent transactions and provided the goods and services to Bender and his co-conspirators,” an announcement from the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office says.
“The actual cardholders discovered these transactions on their accounts and disputed the charges with their card companies who then charged back the transactions to the businesses and individuals, who consequently suffered losses in the amounts of the unauthorized transactions,” the announcement adds.
Stephanie Barry contributed to this reporting.
