COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Prosecutors say a Chicago rapper got busted using a stolen credit card to book rooms — and then rent them out — at the swanky Waldorf Astoria, Airbnb style.
Kyle Taylor, who goes by Stunt Taylor, racked up nearly $7,000 in fraudulent charges on New Year's Eve and then tried to turn a profit renting the hotel rooms via social media, prosecutors said.
"Why not go to the Holiday Inn?" Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. asked during a bond hearing Tuesday. "It wouldn't be that much money."
Taylor is behind the 2013 hit "Fe Fe On The Block" that racked up 5.3 million YouTube views.
According to court records, the 27-year-old Taylor booked at least two rooms at the Gold Coast hotel at 11 E. Walton St. on Dec. 31.
He used a stolen credit card to charge $6,228.53 in hotel charges and an additional $536 in valet fees, an arrest report shows. Hotel staff realized the card was fraudulent when Taylor tried to book additional rooms Jan. 1, prosecutors said.
On Instagram, Taylor posted photos and videos of him dancing and partying with friends in the swanky hotel on New Year's Eve.
The suburban Oak Park resident was caught "advertising rooms for sale" via Instagram and Twitter, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said in court Tuesday.
Taylor is charged with theft/deception, a Class 3 felony.
According to defense attorney Stavri Vako, Taylor works as an entertainer and rapper.
Judge Bourgeois on Tuesday set bail at $75,000. On Wednesday, Taylor tweeted that he'd been released.
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