Update 03/06/2020 2:34pm:

Oakland rapper Kafani was arrested after uploading an Instagram video where he addressed being accused of being part of an alleged multi-million dollar loan scam and ousting an FBI tipster. In the video, Kafani spoke about his ex-girlfriend being a "snake," and stating that she was sending tips to the FBI, leading to the woman fearing for her safety. 

Federal prosecutors convinced U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero to arrest Kafani on Friday (March 6), stating that the video was akin to witness intimidation. Judge Spero told Kafani, "I think you just blew off the court’s order. You need to know how serious this is when you do something like this." 

Kafani was out on out on $250,000 bail when he made the video and he was ordered not to use the internet aside from business purposes. Kafani's attorney claims he made the Instagram video to clear his name and claims that he didn't know that the woman was a witness in the case. Judge Spero responded to Kafani's claims, telling him, "You know from those emails that she was a witness. So don’t give me that, 'I didn’t know she was a witness' stuff — that’s just reaching out there. You’ve got stuff to say here and I would keep your mouth shut. Your lawyer is doing a fine job, she’s a great lawyer. Don’t mess it up." 

Kafani was charged on Friday, along with his three co-defendants: Susan Arreola-Martin, Christopher Pool and Tyrone Jones. All four are accused of taking part in a scheme where they would steal identities of victims and use them to open loans and purchase gold. Kafani was on supervised release while taking part in the alleged scheme after serving 39 months for similar fraud charges. 

Source: Mercury News 

Update 02/25/2020 10:39am:

Oakland rapper Kafani took to Instagram to declare his innocence after being arrested for his role in an alleged loan scam. Kafani, along with three others, is accused of running a multi-million dollar fraud ring where they would allegedly steal identities of victims and take out loans in their name. 

Kafani claimed in his Instagram video that his ex-girlfriend was spreading lies about him to his probation officer. He added that he's "innocent until proven guilty" in the matter, and you can hear his full statement above.

Original 02/21/2020 4:28pm:

Oakland rapper Kafani, who gained national attention after being shot during a music video shoot in 2013 that left him paralyzed, was recently arrested in a multi-million dollar fraud ring. with three others: Susan Arreola-Martin, Christopher Pool, and Tyrone Jones. They are accused of stealing identities from various victims and using their identities to obtain a refinance loan, using the victim’s property as collateral. 

According to The Mercury News, the group took out a $325,000 loan on one victim, and in another instance, they ordered nearly one million in gold bars from Beverly Hills. The gold bar order alerted the F.B.I., who sent $300 in silver bars to a location in Vallejo where $24,000 worth of gold was to be delivered. They staked out the location and saw Tyrone Jones retrieve the bars in a car registered to Kafani's brother. 

Kafani's phone was also wiretapped, where they heard him talking to another person about getting an elderly person to impersonate a victim to get a loan. He was heard saying, "We good, we just need a granny," before getting Arreola-Martin, 69, to impersonate the female victim to obtain the loan.

Kafani had his first court appearance this week, and he was released on $250,000 bail. When he was arrested, Kafani was on supervised release after serving a 39-month sentence for a 2015 conviction of conspiring to commit wire fraud. 

Source: The Mercury News