‘Love and Hip-Hop: Atlanta’ Star Mo Fayne Jailed for Fraud, Wired $5M to Casino

Posted on: September 16, 2021, 05:36h. 

Last updated on: September 16, 2021, 01:12h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Love and Hip-Hop: Atlanta star Maurice “Mo” Fayne will serve 17 and a half years in federal prison. That’s after pleading guilty to crimes including fraud involving the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and operating a Ponzi scheme.

Mo Fayne
Maurice Fayne, aka “Arkansas Mo,” right, wired $5M to his gambling account at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Oklahoma, left. (Image: NBC/Paras Griffin/Getty)

According to prosecutors, Fayne used his ill-gotten gains to fund an extravagant lifestyle, which included wiring $5 million to his gambling account at the Choctaw Casino and Resort in Oklahoma. It is not clear from court documents whether or not Fayne gambled this money away.

Fayne, aka “Arkansas Mo,” appeared in Season 8 of the controversial docu-soap that follows the lives of aspiring rappers trying to make it in Atlanta’s “dirty south” hip-hop scene. He was introduced as Karlie Redd’s love interest, appearing in nine episodes of the show.

Money Blown on Bling

The Dacula, Ga. resident, 38, was arrested in May 2020 on suspicion of making false statements on a $3.7 million PPP application submitted to the United Community Bank (UCB). The reality star claimed the money would be used to “retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments” for his trucking business during the pandemic crisis.

Instead, he splurged on custom-made jewelry and a Rolex and leased a Rolls Royce, according to prosecutors.

Other outgoing funds included $40,000 on past child support, $50,000 on restitution of a previous fraud case, and $907,000 to start a new business in Arkansas.

Frauding Investors

During the course of the investigation, federal agents uncovered a multistate Ponzi scheme that had defrauded more than 20 people who had invested more than $5 in the trucking business, Flame Trucking Inc., between 2013 and 2020.

According to the indictment, Fayne told investors Flame Trucking was a profitable venture. But in reality, it did not make enough revenue to cover its expenses. He said he would use their money to fund expansion and buy more vehicles. But it only funded his extravagant personal lifestyle.

To maintain the deceit, some investors received returns taken from other investors’ funds.

Fayne pleaded guilty in May to charges including conspiracy and wire fraud to avoid a stiffer sentence. He will serve five additional years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay $4,465,865.55 in restitution to his victims.