Pretty Ricky’s Baby Blue (Diamond Smith) was released from the brig on Tuesday, February 6, after serving a year of his 20-month prison sentence on conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges.
The Federal Correctional Institution Coleman Low in Florida released the 39-year-old rapper, but TMZ reported he wasn’t an entirely free man yet.
Officials transported him to the Federal Bureau of Prison’s Miami Residential Reentry Management Office, which provides housing and other resources to released inmates to assist them with their transition back into the real world to combat regression. Blue will officially be released from community confinement on April 4.
Upon the “Grind On Me” rapper’s release from prison, Blue’s Pretty Rick mates Pleasure P and Spectacular, his brother, surprised him by appearing outside the prison to celebrate his semi-freedom.
Pleasure P livestreamed the wholesome moment.
“We outside!” Pleasure P declared. “We all we got, nigga. Let’s get the f—k on out here. We ain’t ever coming back to this motherf—r. We don’t want to see Coleman ever again. The dog is out. Babybluewhoaaaa (his Instagram handle) saying his Instagram gon’ be back up and running. The whole nine.”
Before ending the live, he concluded, “So, look here, we out. We ’bout to get into some brotherly s—t, but I just wanted to share this moment with y’all. The boy is out. He free. We on!”
On Monday, February 19, Blue took to Instagram to post a photo of him decked in all Black with a thick gold chain around his neck. He posted a carousel of pictures of him two hours after the first post, posing before a mirror inside a furnished residence.
Although his official release is in April, Blue will have an additional three years of supervised release and must pay the $1,111,345.23 in restitution that was added to his sentence.
Blue pled guilty to the charges on August 4, 2022, after confessing to falsifying information on his PPP loan applications for his businesses, Throwbackjersey.com LLC ($427,000 loan) and Blue Star Records ($708,000).
He admitted to spending the loans on other expenses like a Ferrari and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and said he gave $250,000 to James R. Stole of Hollywood, FL, and Phillip J. Augustin of Coral Springs, FL.
He started serving his sentence in February 2022. Before going in, Blue claimed on social media that he was scammed by those who brought him into the mess.
“Honestly, The informants in my case made me their SCAPEGOAT. Made it seem like we were part of the scam, but in reality, THEY SCAMMED ME & OTHER CELEBS,” he tweeted. “They told lies on US for less time, wrongly convicting victims. Unfortunately, being ‘NAIVE’ isn’t a defense in the court of law!”
He continued, “You think imma miss my chance on being a real nigga by telling? Gimme them 20 months. Imma knock that s*** out! Be home in no time!”
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