Source: @upnyc / Twitter
Fat Joe‘s (former) business partner in the sneaker business is going to prison. Scott Spina caught a three-year sentence for defrauding customers and stealing their credit card information.
From the looks of things, Spina, 21, was getting busy with other people’s credit cards during the opening of sneaker boutique Up NYC.
Reports Page Six:
Scott Spina of Bloomfield previously pleaded guilty in Newark federal court on a charge of one count of wire fraud, officials said. US District Judge Esther Salas handed down Spina’s 35-month sentence Monday.
Spina, 21, aka “Scotty Kickz” and Bronx rapper Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Antonio Cartagena, opened Up NYC in Washington Heights in 2016, and built up a high profile clientele, including pro athletes and musicians such as DJ Khaled and rapper Jim Jones.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Spina used credit card information provided by his customers to make personal purchases without their knowledge.
He even contacted his credit card company and falsely claimed that numerous purchases on his account were fraudulent, according to officials.
Spina admitted that he obtained or sought to obtain more than $550,000 in cash or goods, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Up NYC is still open and it seems to be business as usual despite one of its founders heading to the bing.
Apparently, Fat Joe spotted the jig, and got Spina out the paint. A site called ZestVIP reported early last year that Spina had been pushed out shortly after the store’s opening in late 2016. Allegedly, customers were beefing about suspicious charges on their credit cards after shopping at UP NYC.
Spina then sued Fat Joe, claiming he wasn’t getting paid despite investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the store. Reportedly, he was banned from the store on Nov. 25, 2016. But he was on the hook for the fraudulent charges—and since he’s been sentenced, the courts agree.
Scotty Kicks was known as a sneaker plug, hooking up celebs with exclusive kicks. That’s him (his IG is now private, though) in the video below with Khaled.
Spina will have three years to figure out where he went wrong.
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Photo: Twitter
