Revealed: How mega-rich musicians including Post Malone, Chris Brown, LeAnn Rimes and Nickelback bagged up to $10M in Covid emergency grants they didn’t have to pay back

Music giants like Post Malone, Chris Brown, LeAnn Rimes and Nickelback have reportedly received millions of dollars from a taxpayer-funded program designed to help venues and musicians struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Introduced in 2021, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant was administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA) and was designed as a lifeline for live entertainment companies decimated by lockdowns.

It donated $14.5 billion to institutions such as movie theaters, ballets, performing arts venues and talent agents – as well as artists.

Compared to the Paycheck Protection Program, which offered a loan, qualified applicants were eligible for up to $10 million, which they did not have to repay, to replace lost earnings.

According to a Insider researchlimited liability companies tied to arena-filling acts took advantage of this.

R&B artist Chris Brown allegedly received the maximum grant of $10 million, which did not have to be repaid

Singer Post Malone and R&B artist Chris Brown, who has an estimated net worth of around $50 million, were reportedly among the artists who received the maximum payout of $10 million.

Post Malone has an estimated net worth of at least $45 million and owns several homes, including a $3 million luxury estate in northern Utah with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

Rapper Lil Wayne, meanwhile, reportedly received $8.9 million and singers LeAnn Rimes and Nickelback each received $2 million.

While it’s unclear how the money was used, there’s no evidence that these payments to major artists broke the law.

The aid could have been used to pay lighting and sound engineers, customers, drivers, security personnel and other contractors who were left out of work when tours or concerts had to be cancelled.

However, there was no requirement for companies and limited liability companies to use the money to keep these employees afloat.

Recipients were legally able to spend it on existing mortgage payments, taxes, and payroll — including paying for it themselves.

Notably, the study found that only one Los Angeles asset manager managed to submit grants on behalf of 97 artists, venues and managers, including Post Malone, metal band Korn and electronic music star Steve Aoki.

The company, NKSFB, reportedly secured helped secure a combined payout of $260 million.

Singer-songwriter LeAnn Rimes reportedly received $2 million in the Covid-19 grant

Rock band Nickelback reportedly received $2 million from the Shuttered Venue Program

In a statement to Insideran SBA spokesperson said the Shuttered Venue program “helped save thousands of entertainment venues and operators across the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Nearly half of the grant money went to companies with fewer than five full-time employees, “the smallest of small businesses,” the spokesperson added.

It’s because the government is still determining how much of the pandemic-era aid went to fraudulent claims.

Earlier this year, an SBA report revealed that $200 billion may have been wasted on COVID-19 relief programs.

The eye-popping sum amounts to about 17 percent of the $1.2 trillion distributed by the SBA.

However, the watchdog has dismissed the likelihood of rampant fraud surrounding the Shuttered Venue program — it estimated that less than 1 percent of grants distributed were fraudulent.