Chad Focus, a rapper known for his extravagant claims of fame, had hundreds of millions of streams on his songs, performances alongside major artists like Lil Baby, collaborations with T-Pain, and even billboards touting him as the number one recording artist in the world.

Yet, despite these impressive accolades, most people have never heard of him.

That’s because nearly every aspect of Chad’s career was fabricated—from his streams and followers to his ticket sales and even his Billboard records.

He achieved this illusion of success through an elaborate multi-million-dollar scam that ultimately landed him in federal prison for two and a half years.

Before this downfall, Chad, whose real name is Chad Arrington, began as an ambitious individual navigating the internet in search of opportunities.

In his early days, he fell victim to and heavily promoted various multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes, including one called MOBE, which was later shut down by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for being a pyramid scheme.

He also advocated for companies like Motor Club of America and Organo Gold, both of which were flagged for their questionable practices. However, his hustling spirit persisted, and in 2011, at the age of 23, Chad took a job as an SEO specialist at Agora Publishing, a Baltimore-based media company.

This role allowed him to leverage his marketing expertise, a skill he had honed after earning a degree in Communications.

Chad also launched several business ventures, including an IT company and an SEO consulting firm. He claimed to have become a millionaire in his 20s, but his actions often contradicted such boasts.

By 2015, Chad embarked on a new venture: a music career under the name Chad Focus and his own label, Focus Music Entertainment.

Instead of grinding in the underground music scene like most aspiring artists, he opted to create an illusion of success by faking everything from streams to followers.

His music was largely unremarkable, which perhaps drove him to use a method called “streaming farms” to inflate his numbers.

Streaming farms are operations where either bots or real people use multiple devices to repeatedly play songs, thereby generating streams that appear legitimate.

This tactic allowed Chad to claim revenue from streams and artificially boost his visibility on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal. In a Vice documentary, Chad admitted to employing streaming farms, saying he used them to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars and chart on Billboard.

However, Chad didn’t stop at faking streams. He also manipulated his social media presence by purchasing fake followers, likes, and engagement.

To finance all of this, Chad turned to the corporate credit card of Agora Publishing, his employer. Over time, he spent more than $300,000 on Fiverr alone, paying for services that promised to promote his music on industry charts.

He also used the card to pay companies to boost his YouTube views, Instagram followers, and Spotify streams.

Additionally, he used it to buy sound equipment, studio kits, and music technology. By fabricating his popularity, Chad managed to chart on Billboard with his 2018 song “Dance With Me,” which featured a remix with T-Pain—a collaboration he likely paid for using the company’s credit card.

However, his efforts were poorly executed, with inconsistencies like one song garnering millions of streams while others barely reached double digits, making the fraud glaringly obvious. His Spotify account was eventually removed.

In 2019, Chad performed at a concert with Lil Baby and Moneybagg Yo. To make the event appear more successful, he spent another $125,000 on the company credit card to buy tickets, which he then attempted to resell.

Chad justified his actions by claiming he was simply mimicking the practices of major industry players, framing himself as an independent artist trying to expose the music industry’s flaws.

However, his methods were far from ethical, and his manipulation extended beyond streaming and ticket sales.

The Department of Justice later revealed that Chad had used over $300,000 for unauthorized travel expenses, including hotels, airfare, and nightlife activities, and another $375,000 on Chad Focus merchandise and accessories.

He even spent significant sums on billboards, some of which were bizarrely irrelevant, such as one that asked, “Who will be the president of 2024?”

Chad’s fraudulent activities eventually caught up with him. To conceal his spending, he enlisted friends to launder money back to him and used software to create false entries on credit card statements to hide transactions from his supervisors.

However, after his concert with Lil Baby in 2019, federal authorities began investigating him. By mid-2019, Chad was indicted, and in early 2020, he pled guilty to charges including conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

The total unauthorized charges amounted to over $4.1 million. In 2021, Chad was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to Agora Publishing. His actions caused significant fallout, with ten employees at Agora taking pay cuts due to the financial impact of his fraud.

Despite his conviction, Chad attempted to reframe his story as one of ingenuity and inspiration. Upon his release in 2023, he began a press campaign from home, as he was under house arrest for an additional year.

He portrayed himself as a whistleblower exposing the music industry’s reliance on bots and manipulation, claiming that his actions were meant to empower others and highlight systemic flaws.

However, this narrative did little to absolve him, as the methods he employed—using bots and fake followers—were already widely known. Chad’s claims of independence also rang hollow, given that he had relied on stolen funds to finance his schemes.

In addition to his press campaign, Chad sought to monetize his notoriety by offering online courses, marketing services, and one-on-one coaching sessions. His website advertised promises of helping others achieve fame and financial success using his “proven system.”

These offerings were riddled with irony, as they stemmed from the same fraudulent practices that had landed him in prison.

Chad charged $250 for hour-long consultations, during which he claimed to teach clients how to replicate his methods of gaining streams, followers, and visibility.

However, these services were likely as dubious as his initial rise to fame.

Chad’s story serves as a cautionary tale about the allure and pitfalls of artificial success. While he managed to create the illusion of being a successful artist, the foundation of his career was built on lies and theft.

His actions not only harmed his employer and the integrity of the music industry but also highlighted the ease with which individuals can manipulate online metrics to fabricate influence.

Despite his attempts to spin his narrative as one of empowerment and industry critique, Chad Focus ultimately stands as a reminder that shortcuts to success often lead to significant consequences.