Nelly's Cousin Given 15 Months in Prison for Defrauding Cowboys' Brandon Carr

The cousin of rapper Nelly received a 15-month prison sentence Thursday for defrauding Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr of $250,000.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Robert Patrick, Abayomi Jamil "Yomi" Martin presented himself as a part-owner of the Famous Nobodys clothing brand and told Carr his investment would provide him with an ownership stake in its holding company.

Patrick provided more details on the scheme in February 2019:

"On Sept. 12, 2016, Carr wired $250,000 into a bank account controlled by Martin, the indictment says. Martin used the money for personal expenses and to pay the training costs of several professional boxers, the indictment claims.

"The indictment says that after the investment, Martin texted Carr's business manager updates to continue the scam and 'lull' Carr into believing the money had been used as advertised, saying 'theres (sic) plenty going on' and talking of 'a new collection for holiday launch' and 'a transition for a larger scale.'"

Carr was planning to put profits from his investment toward his charity, Carr Cares.

A judge ordered Martin, who pleaded guilty to a felony count of wire fraud in March, to pay back the $250,000 to Carr and another $11,000 to credit card companies. 

Patrick also noted in his report Nelly had severed all previous business ties with Martin.