A recent Business Insider investigation revealed that Lil Wayne and Chris Brown used millions from a pandemic relief program intended for the live entertainment industry for luxury spending.

The program, overseen by the Small Business Administration, provided grants up to $10 million for "ordinary necessary" business expenses. Recipients had to prove their revenue dropped at least 25% between matching quarters in 2019 and 2020.

Key findings from the investigation:

• Lil Wayne spent millions on private jet flights, luxury brand purchases from Gucci and Balenciaga, and over $175,000 on his own brands
• Chris Brown received $10 million through his CBE Touring company, with $5.1 million going directly to himself and nearly $80,000 spent on his birthday party
• Lil Wayne paid $5.3 million to managers, accountants, and attorneys - 13 times more than what his touring crew received
• DJ Marshmello received $9.9 million and directed the entire amount to himself through "owner compensation"

Former U.S. controller general David Walker questioned the legality of these expenditures, while Senator Gary Peters called it "an abuse of federal resources."

The Small Business Administration has reportedly recovered $43 million in grants, though $6 billion worth of grants remain under review for compliance. Despite creating a team to recover wrongfully awarded grants, organizational records suggest no staff had been assigned to it as of September.

This misuse of funds is part of a larger pattern of pandemic relief fraud, with the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans experiencing around $200 billion in suspected false claims.

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