Former New York Jets Player Josh Bellamy Charged for Role in $24 Million COVID-Relief Fraud Scheme
The United States Department of Justice announced that it has charged just-released NFL player Josh Bellamy for allegedly participating in a $24 million scheme to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
Wide receiver Bellamy, 31, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who was released by the New York Jets on Wednesday has been charged for his alleged participation in a scheme to file fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $24 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The charges against Bellamy were filed in the Southern District of Florida. He is being charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Bellamy was arrested Thursday morning and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Tuite of the Middle District of Florida.
According to the complaint, “Bellamy is alleged to have obtained a PPP loan of $1,246,565 for his own company, Drip Entertainment L.L.C. Bellamy allegedly purchased more than $104,000 in luxury goods using the proceeds of his PPP loan, including purchases at Dior, Gucci, and jewelers. He is also alleged to have spent approximately $62,774 in PPP loan proceeds at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and to have withdrawn over $302,000. Bellamy also allegedly sought PPP loans on behalf of his family members and close associates.”
The complaint alleges that the scheme involved the preparation of at least 90 fraudulent applications, most of which were submitted. Along with his alleged co-conspirator, talent manager Phillip J. Augustin, and others in the scheme, Bellamy is alleged to have applied for PPP loans that are together worth more than $24 million. Many of those loan applications were approved and funded by financial institutions, paying out at least $17.4 million.
Bellamy, who spent eight years in the NFL, was on the roster for the 2019 season with the New York Jets, contributing primarily on special teams. The Jets released Bellamy from their reserve/physically unable to participate list earlier this week.
Miami Dolphins Will Stay Inside Locker Room During National Anthem
The NFL’s Miami Dolphins will remain inside their locker room this Sunday when the national anthem is played for the team’s season opening game.
The Dolphins made the announcement in a video Thursday where players sharply criticized the NFL’s lack of social justice action.
Dolphin players took turns reading a message in the video demanding the NFL use its money and influence to make social changes. Players also slammed the league’s decision to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before every opening game, calling it a publicity stunt rather than an effort to effect change.
“So if my dad was a soldier, but the cops killed my brother, do I stand for one anthem and then kneel for the other?” a Dolphins player said in the message. “This attempt to unify only creates more divide. So we’ll skip the song and dance, and as a team we’ll stay inside.”
Dolphins players also criticized the league’s decision to allow players to wear helmet stickers honoring the victims of police shootings saying it was just another example of a publicity move on the NFL’s part.
At the end of the video the Dolphins demanded the NFL stop with “fluff and empty gestures,” asking team owners to “flex political power” to make social changes.
The NFL has had issues with social justice and anthem protests since 2016 when Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and systemic racism. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized earlier this summer for not listening to Kaepernick earlier.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans opened the 2020 season last night, coming together to lock arms before the game. The limited crowd booed the players as they gathered together and stood in the middle of the field.
The Chiefs and Texans shared a moment of silence prior to tonight's game. #ItTakesAllOfUs
Viewers across the nation will be glued to their televisions on Sunday as 13 more games will be played. No other team has announced if it will protest the anthem, but there are sure to be demonstrations of some kind.
Amazon Will Be Hiring 33,000 New Employees on Amazon Career Day 2020
Amazon has announced this week that it plans to hire 33,000 new employees to fill positions during an event that will take place virtually on Sept. 16.
Amazon announced that it is having its Career Day 2020 on Sept. 16 with plans to fill 33,000 open roles. This is the second year that Amazon is doing this. Last year the company held the first Career Day, where it hosted more than 17,000 people seeking employment in six U.S. cities. This year, the event will be opened nationwide. The virtual event will be aimed at supporting all job seekers, from all levels, regardless of their experience, professional field, or background, or whether they are looking for a job at Amazon or another company.
“We’re mobilizing a team of 1,000 recruiters to provide 20,000 free, one-on-one career coaching sessions in a single day, and we’re creating three hours of mainstage programming that will feature fireside chats, panel discussions, and interviews with leading career advice experts and Amazon executives.”
On Sept. 16, potential employees will have the chance to live stream fireside chats, panel discussions, and interviews with recruiting experts and industry leaders giving advice on how to help them land their next job. Job seekers will have the opportunity to participate in a 1-on-1 career coaching session with an Amazon recruiter and can get personalized advice on how to navigate the current job market.
As part of Amazon’s Career Day 2020, attendees will be given the chance to learn about the 33,000 Amazon jobs currently available across the U.S. The positions range from corporate and tech roles that support Alexa, AWS, Operations Technology, and Prime Video, to leadership roles in Amazon’s logistics network.
This year’s Career Day 2020 will give everyone who has computer access the chance to attend virtually.
Six Different Teachers Die From COVID-19 Amid School Reopenings
The COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic, has brought about a lot of changes leaving millions of Americans to adapt to the new reality of the public health crisis. As schools re-open for a new school year, many parents have become divided on whether or not they should allow their children to attend classes or opt for remote learning until the viral outbreak is contained. With the death of six teachers across five states, many parents and school administrators are questioning if in-class sessions are safe.
According to the Washington Post, at least six teachers have died as a result of the coronavirus since early August. One of those teachers was Demetria Bannister, a third-grade teacher at Windsor Elementary School based in Columbia, South Carolina, who had been working as an educator for five years and died this week.
“I want to express my sincere condolences to Ms. Bannister’s parents, relatives, friends, and school family,” Dr. Baron Davis, Richland County School District Two Superintendent, said in a statement according to WIS News.
“While gone from us too soon, Ms. Bannister’s legacy lives on through the lives of the students she taught in her five years as a dedicated educator. To honor Ms. Bannister’s memory I ask the Richland Two family to join me in reaffirming our commitment to doing all we can to provide premier learning experiences for all students in the safest environment possible and doing our part to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
In Oxford, Mississippi, Nacoma James, who worked as the football coach, died of COVID-19 in early August. He has just arrived at the campus after spending the summer coaching at football practices. The sudden death left many students in shock as the coach was loved throughout the school.
“In my 30 years in education and the last 12 as a superintendent, I’ve lost more sleep over keeping kids safe than anything,” said district superintendent Adam Pugh said in the Mississippi Today. “Does all this have me worried? Absolutely. I want to keep all of our students as safe as I possibly can. This all worries me a great deal.”
Breonna Taylor Case Finally Headed To A Grand Jury
Six months after the night her life was taken, the Kentucky attorney general is preparing to present evidence following Breonna Taylor’s killing to a grand jury.
Two sources familiar with the situation told NBC News that Attorney General Daniel Cameron will present the case before a Louisville grand jury next week at an undisclosed location. Once the grand jury decides if the case will go forward, Cameron will make a public announcement to share his office’s investigative findings and the grand jury’s decision on possible indictments for the three officers who fired their weapons that night.
“When the investigation concludes and a decision has been made, we will provide an update about an announcement,” Cameron said in a statement. “The news will come from our office and not unnamed sources. Until that time, the investigation remains ongoing.”
Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were asleep the night of March 13 when Louisville Metro Police barged into her home with a no-knock warrant in relation to a drug investigation. The noise woke Taylor, who thought someone was trying to break-in. Walker, who is a registered gun owner, fired a shot toward their bedroom door.
The police responded, firing a bevy of shots toward the couple and hitting Taylor five times. One of the three officers who fired shots at Taylor has been fired for displaying “an extreme indifference to the value of human life” when he “wantonly and blindly fired 10 rounds into the apartment of Breonna Taylor,” according to the officer’s termination letter, which was posted to the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Twitter account.
A grand jury of a dozen citizens is seated each month in Louisville and decides whether to bring charges on between 15 and 20 cases per day. However, Taylor’s case is expected to last several days as evidence is presented.
In order for any of the three officers to be indicted, at least nine jurors have to rule there is “sufficient” evidence to believe a crime was committed, according to NBC.
Sam Aguiar, a lawyer for the Taylor family, said the family would be disappointed if the only outcome was to charge the three officers who fired shots that night. Aguiar said the Taylor family still has unanswered questions about the search warrant the Louisville Metro Police used, the judge who signed off on it, and the legitimacy of the search warrant that led officers to Taylor’s home.
“If they emerge with indictments that are only in relation to the actual shooting, we would have plenty of questions regarding all of the criminal actions leading up to and after the shooting,” Aguiar told NBC Wednesday.
Aguiar also revealed last week that Louisville prosecutors offered Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, who is facing multiple drug-related charges, a plea deal if he were to say that she was a part of an organized crime syndicate. Glover declined the deal and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Kansas City Chiefs Football Fans Boo Teams as They Stood In Unity During ‘Moment of Silence’ at NFL opener
With the National Football League officially starting their season last night, the two teams, the reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans, gathered on the field for a moment of unity and fans in the stands booed the players for their display, according to Yahoo Sports.
During the moment of unity between the Texans and Chiefs, some fans responded by booing.pic.twitter.com/qRnle1XiJg
At last night’s NFL season-opener at Arrowhead Stadium, according to the NFL, the stadium announcer led the teams in a moment of unity by asking the crowd to “please join us in a moment of silence dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country.”
The teams were led by quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs and Deshaun Watson of the Texans, as the players and coaches then gathered at midfield and interlocked arms. The following seven messages, chosen by the players, were shown during the moment of unity: “We support equality. We must end racism. We believe in justice for all. We must end police brutality. We choose unconditional love. We believe Black lives matter. It takes all of us.”
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said the booing was not reflective of the Missouri city.
We’re a good city of good people. I heard boos too. But we also have hundreds of thousands more around here who respect the message the players are sharing; who respect the rights of our players and people to voice a strong message and who are working to make us better each day.
Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was happy with the moment of unity but didn’t understand the boos that could be heard from those in attendance.
“At the end of the day, we are all brothers and part of a brotherhood. We had great conversations and we’ve done a lot of great things,” Watt told reporters, per the NFL Network’s James Palmer. “That’s the decision we made as a team. The moment of unity I personally thought was good. I mean the booing during that moment was unfortunate. I don’t fully understand that. There was no flag involved. There was nothing involved other than two teams coming together to show unity.”
American Airlines Hires BE Smart Hackathon Attendees Despite COVID-19 Impact
Newly hired Taiwo Raji has had a wonderful experience so far working as a junior developer on the data privacy team at American Airlines.
Raji, armed with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Tuskegee University in Alabama, gave BLACK ENTERPRISE some of his impressions about working for American.
“Everyone around me is so helpful and patient and it has really allowed me to feel comfortable and just focus on learning my job,” he says.
“One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that there are people available as resources for you and you just have to be comfortable enough going to them.”
Another new employee, Erin Campbell, reflected on her experience working in information technology at the Fort Worth, Texas-based company. She was excited to find that there is a lot of emphasis on learning journeys with her team. A graduate from Xavier University in Louisiana, she is a software developer on the pilot crew management ecosystem team. Her duties include doing data-based processing to help modernize the flight operating system.
One of her earliest assignments was to learn about a particular topic and then give a presentation about it to the rest of the team. “There’s a lot of communication and a lot of opportunities to familiarize ourselves with new programs and processes,” Campbell says.
Welcome to fresh efforts by American Airlines to recruit, retain, and promote Black Americans within its IT division.
Two years ago, the airline giant sponsored the BE Smart Hackathon for the first time. Impressed with the talent pool, the carrier returned in 2019. American Airlines that year hired 10 BE Smart Hackathon participants from Bowie State University, Dillard University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Morgan State University, Tuskegee University, and Xavier University, including Raji and Campbell.
Campbell in a meeting with her new co-workers at American (Image: Courtesy of American Airlines)
Another four HBCU graduates were hired from events the carrier attended. All 14 of the hires started in the company’s IT division in June 2020. The next BLACK ENTERPRISE annual Hackathon will be from Oct. 9–10. Once again American Airlines will sponsor the event, which, for the first time, will be presented in a virtual format.
The hires are compelling as American is beefing up diversity in its IT unit as the industry struggles with public health safety issues and economic challenges due to COVID-19. Airlines are now facing rugged conditions after posting several years of profitability. American Airlines reported in August it will lay off 19,000 workers in October after federal aid to protect job lapses, according to CBS News. The news came just after Delta Air Lines furloughed 1,941 of its pilots, which occurred weeks after major airlines warned they would have to furlough more than 80,000 pilots, flight attendants, and other workers once the $25 billion in government aid expires in late September.
Still, American Airlines has not reduced its recruitment of Black professionals. American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Koos says the company spends millions in recruiting and hiring. She added that in IT specifically, the hiring is focused on bringing in diverse talent.
American Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Maya Leibman said the company stayed the course because it was important to do so. She noted other companies decided not to recruit or make job offers because of the pandemic, but American Airlines wants to keep growing when it comes to adding diverse talent.
“We knew it was important to bring on these new hires from HBCUs and bring new technical skills to our organization,” she says. “These new hires can help us take our transformation to the next level.”
Leibman says IT touches most facets of the business, from shopping for a ticket to getting on board and collecting baggage at a customer’s destination. It also impacts many of the airlines’ more than 100,000 employees, including how pilots get flight plans and how flight attendants can serve drinks aboard the aircraft.
Technology also plays a huge role in how the airline addresses the new COVID-19 climate. For instance, the carrier has a new touchless check-in experience that lets customers use the American mobile app to get a baggage tag and check luggage without touching the kiosk. A new automated refund process was added for customers who bought a ticket but decided they did not want to travel as those plans were disrupted by the pandemic.
The pandemic has created a big need for IT jobs at American. For instance, there will be a demand for software development jobs to help the carrier boost revenue or cut costs. The airline needs software developers to help ensure the customer’s check-in experience runs smoothly. “Technology will play a huge role in our ability to manage and weather this crisis,” Leibman says.
Simultaneously, the pandemic has presented new challenges. Since the carrier was aware new hires would begin work remotely, it created a fun two-week virtual boot camp. The virtual onboarding included ice-breakers. New hires took part in technical training, an overview of the carrier’s software stack, a mini-hackathon, and sessions with many senior executives, including American Airlines CEO Doug Parker.
“This was the first time we had onboarded new hires in an entirely online way and we wanted it to be a special experience for them,” company spokeswoman Koos says.
The HBCU new hires are part of ADEPT, a two-year program geared toward promoting business and leadership skills and exposing new hires to diverse opportunities at American. ADEPT, which is only for software developers and software engineers, provides new hires with a rotational job program, lunch-and-learns with senior executives, class mentors, and opportunities to learn about different areas of the airline, including visits to its airport operations and maintenance hangars.
The carrier views diverse candidates as critical to its IT department. Leibman says such diversity fosters new opportunities and innovation as new hires bring their own experience and work to the table.
“When you have a diverse workgroup, it brings different perspectives that a non-diverse (group) would not have to offer,” Liebman says. That may help the carrier gain a different mix of customers, employees, and perhaps help boost its revenues and profitability.
The airline, in turn, helps fresh hires understand what it is like to work for a technology organization.
As head of emerging technology at American, Phillip Easter says his team scouts out new technology that can be relevant to the airline space and can help solve current or future problems. For example, that might include probing the virus threat, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. It could also be technology to automate current systems or new technologies to improve customer experiences in the future.
American’s emerging technology head Phillip Easter judges the competition and scouts new talent (Image: Courtesy of American Airlines)
“Other teams work on today’s technology; my team works on tomorrow’s technology,” Easter explains.
To help build employee engagement and morale, Easter’s team typically conducts such events as internal workshop hackathons to educate employees on new technology. His team engages with colleges and holds hackathons for them. “That allows us to socialize the fact that American Airlines is a technology company as well as scout out and hire new talent.”
Further, Easter values the partnership the airline has with BLACK ENTERPRISE, using the BE Smart Hackathon as a talent vehicle. He says BLACK ENTERPRISE does a phenomenal job of integrating with the HBCUs and identifying talent that can come to the event, being a bridge to the students for the carrier at colleges and universities. “It’s a hand-and-hand partnership: We have great technical jobs and work environment and BLACK ENTERPRISE socializes that and makes the connection for us.”
On the recruitment front, Easter has higher expectations of the upcoming virtual BE Smart Hackathon compared to the live version in recent years. Without students having to clear financial or logistical hurdles, Easter says, the virtual event could expose American Airlines to more HBCUs; he projects it might attract 200 students versus only 50 before.
For Campbell, the hackathon was a good way to practice computer science in a non-classroom capacity and interact with computer science people from other schools. At the event, she learned not to always approach projects with a purely theoretical mindset, or just from the perspective of making something. It taught her to start thinking about the business logic of how a real company would have to approach things like privacy and operating within regulations. “Basically, it expanded my paradigm to consider more factors when thinking creatively,” Campbell says.
For Raji, the event helped him learned a lot about the company and its partners and how they leverage technology to solve problems. “I got to meet a lot of other Black engineers and really add to my network on top of that,” he says.
When a hackathon ends, American Airlines employees talk about how many new hires it will make. Candidates are flown in for a day, have campus tours, and meet with key executives and potential managers. Afterward, Easter says, the airline decides if it wants to make them an offer.
It’s a quick process. He says American tries to extend an offer with 24 hours of a campus visit. Because of that, Easter says, the carrier has a high acceptance rate, about 90%. He noted that seven of the 14 HBCU hires are women, an interesting statistic given the relatively low number of women in engineering. “So, to have half of them in engineering is very phenomenal.” Overall, the new hires work in software development positions, programming software for employee or customer use.
In his short time at the airline, Raji says he already has participated in two internal hackathons “where the problems we were trying to solve could provide real business value to the company.” He has also met with several vice presidents, managing directors, and even the CEO.
Easter believes diverse talent is an additive to the innovation process. A trend is becoming established, he says: a company that embraces diversity in its hiring will ultimately be more innovative. Greater diversity helps you develop software more inclusive of your customer base. “We have more software solutions that allow all customers to engage with us.”
Another area American Airlines takes very seriously is mentorship and guidance for each recruit to promote career success, retention, and advancement. Easter says key leaders are assigned to work with them regularly to see how they are progressing. And their managers work with them on a “learning journey.” New talent is embraced into American’s family-oriented culture.
And like any family, finding your place takes time.
In terms of career aspirations, Raji wants to be a technical leader in his field: “It’s a little vague right now because I’m still learning and trying different parts of computing to find the best fit for me.”
President Donald Trump Allegedly Disrespected Nelson Mandela, Stating ‘He Was No Leader’
President Donald Trump, according to his ex-lawyer and ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, allegedly stated that South Africa’s first Black president, Nelson Mandela, “was no leader,” according to CBS News.
In Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump written by Michael Cohen, the president’s disrespect toward former President Barack Obama included his racist thoughts about Blacks.
“[A]s a rule, Trump expressed low opinions of all Black folks, from music to culture and politics. Africa was a hell-hole, he believed, and Mandela, to use but one example, was an object of contempt for Trump,” Cohen writes.
He quotes Mr. Trump saying, during a rant about President Obama, “Tell me one country run by a Black person that isn’t a s***hole. They are all complete f***ing toilets.”
Cohen also stated that after Mandela died, Trump said South Africa “was once a beautiful country twenty, thirty years ago,” when it was still under apartheid rule.
“Mandela f***ed the whole country up. Now it’s a s***hole,” he quotes Mr. Trump saying. “F*** Mandela. He was no leader.”
Cohen said that Trump went on a rant degrading the former president.
“‘Obama is a f*****g phony,’ Trump screamed. ‘He’s a Manchurian candidate. He’s not even f*****g American. The only reason he got into Harvard law school and Columbia was f*****g affirmative action. He could never get into those schools on his f*****g grades. F*** him,'” Cohen recalls.
Cohen, who was Trump’s personal lawyer until 2018, was charged and pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, fraud, and lying to Congress. He was given a sentence of three years in federal prison but was allowed to leave and be transferred to house arrest earlier this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his book, Cohen writes that Trump is “guilty of the same crimes” that landed him in prison. Cohen has stated that he lied and paid hush money to former porn star Stormy Daniels, with the knowledge of Trump in an effort to cover for him.
Alicia Keys Collaborates with NFL to Launch $1 Billion Endowment Fund for Black Businesses
Popular R&B artist Alicia Keys performed at last night’s NFL Kickoff event to help start the 2020 season on Thursday. What she did off the field will undoubtedly have a greater impact. Keys has launched a $1 billion endowment fund, which the NFL has contributed to, aimed at supporting Black businesses and communities, according to Billboard.
“We are already seeing the blatant injustices that are going on around us,” Keys told Billboard. “As an artist, I’m always thinking about how can I use my platform to further racial equity. This fund is one of the answers and our goal is to empower Black America through investing in Black businesses, Black investors, institutions, entrepreneurs, schools and banks in a way to create sustainable solutions.”
Keys also explained the need for the fund–and her inspiration for practicing social justice.
“There is an urgent conversation that is happening across businesses about the importance of investing in Black America. I’m personally committed to holding corporations and institutions accountable, and in my conversations with the NFL, they reaffirmed their commitment to racial equity,” Keys adds.
“The prospect of true generational wealth for the Black community is long overdue and I’m grateful to express my purpose as an artist to advance that cause. I’ve been deeply inspired by the courage of Colin Kaepernick and the determination I have to see this through is meant to honor his commitment to social justice.”
In a letter, she discussed the purpose of the endowment.
The league has also committed to contribute to a billion-dollar endowment.
The fund will be steered by Black leadership with a clear goal to empower Black America. The fund will create long term solutions with a focus on Black entrepreneurs, businesses, communities, Black schools, banks, and other Black institutions, while addressing persistent social, economic and environmental disparities. It’s starting here, but the intention is to build a multi-billion-dollar endowment across multiple industries. Through our collective action, we can end the needless and preventable agony created by systemic racism.
We are pushing for an aggressive agenda to meet the urgent need of proper access, opportunity and inclusion. I am personally committed to creating meaningful conversations to hold corporations and institutions accountable for their contributions to racial justice.
Louisville Mayor Appoints First Black Woman Police Chief Amid Breonna Taylor Protests
Starting in October, Louisville, Kentucky’s next police chief will be a Black woman.
Yvette Gentry, previously the city’s deputy chief of police, is the first Black woman to lead the city’s police department and the third Black person to serve as police chief.
The death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville has polarized the country and has caused millions around the country to call for justice against the police officers responsible. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said he selected Gentry because she wants to help “reimagine public safety and address systemic racism.”
“We wanted somebody right now that represents some independence of viewpoint so that we could move forward with that,” Fischer said at a news conference announcing her appointment on Monday.
In an emotional speech, Gentry expressed how Taylor’s death has impacted her. She discussed her hopes to bring change. She will start in October after current interim chief Robert Schroeder retires. Gentry is the third interim chief the police department has had since Taylor was killed in her home back in March.
“I prayed, and even when I wanted to change my mind, God had already told me it was the right thing to do,” Gentry said. “For all of you who urged me to take this position and try to move the needle, I’m here…” I will just say [that this] is just a glimpse of how a lot of people have been feeling for a long time, and we can’t go back.”
“I think our city is at a point of reckoning that only truth can bring us out of,” she added. “I’m not here just to help you unboard your beautiful buildings downtown,” Gentry said. “I’m here to work with you to unboard the community that I serve … with all of my heart in West Louisville that was boarded for 20 or 30 years, and I just could not find the help. So, I’m here to help you do that because you promised to help me do that.”
