NBA YoungBoy’s accent and pronunciation helped investigators bust him for prescription drug fraud. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, an investigator determined the 24-year-old rapper was posing as an elderly woman named “Gwendolyn Cox” to get prescription drugs.
The Cache County Sheriff’s Office accused NBA YoungBoy and his associates of scamming multiple pharmacies to obtain promethazine with codeine in Utah. He was arrested for identity fraud, forgery and attempting to procure prescription drugs on Tuesday (April 16). A Cache County investigator explained how phone calls led to NBA YoungBoy’s arrest.
“During the investigation, I was contacted by Dispatch and informed of a ‘Gwendolyn Cox’ needing to speak with me,” Tyson Hyrum Nielsen wrote in an affidavit. “I contacted Gwendolyn at the phone number that she provided Dispatch … During the conversation with ‘Gwendolyn’ it was very clear that a fake voice was being used. ‘Gwendolyn’ sounded as though she was a much younger male from the southern states.”
He continued, “Gwendolyn made a statement ‘Well I axed her to and she said that she’ll have you call me.’ This statement was a response to a request that was made to have ‘Gwendolyn’ contact Dispatch and have them transfer her call back through. According to your Affiant’s training and experience and having lived in the Southern United States, the terminology in replacing the work ‘ask’ with ‘axe’ or other variations, is consistent with a southern dialect in states such as Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and other southern states.”
Investigators learned the physicians who supposedly prescribed the drugs to “Gwendolyn Cox” had no records of her being a patient. Two associates of NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, were arrested for a prescription fraud incident at a pharmacy in Smithfield, Utah. The suspects were traveling in a vehicle registered to NBA YoungBoy.
A person identified as his business manager tried to contact authorities to retrieve the vehicle from the impound. Nielsen requested to speak with NBA YoungBoy, leading to a conference call.
NBA YoungBoy claimed the women who got arrested were his family. He said they had permission to use his vehicle. The Baton Rouge native allegedly insisted on securing the prescription drugs despite the circumstances. The conference call proved costly as it helped Nielsen conclude “Gwendolyn Cox” was NBA YoungBoy.
“Kentrell Gaulden continued to attempt to further the prescription fraud by talking about the prescription and saying ‘she on the hospital bed,’ referring to the patient ‘Gwendolyn Cox’ from the previous day,” Nielsen wrote. “Also of value to note, Kentrell Gaulden used the word ‘Axe’ instead of ask, this is similar to my conversation with ‘Gwendolyn’ the night before when ‘Gwendolyn’ used the same word. Based on my training and experience and having lived in the Southern United States, using the term ‘Axe’ in place of ask is a common southern dialect. This is also consistent with Kentrell Gaulden being from Louisiana and having lived in Texas as well.”
The prescription fraud added to NBA YoungBoy’s legal troubles. He was already on house arrest awaiting trial in a gun case. A motion was filed to revoke his pre-trial release on Thursday (April 18).