Rapper Fat Trel Arrested For Passing Counterfeit Bills At Casino

By Ally Schweitzer

Fat Trel, the rapper from Northeast D.C., was arrested Sunday.
Fat Trel, the rapper from Northeast D.C., was arrested Sunday.

D.C. rapper Fat Trel was arrested Sunday for passing counterfeit money at a Maryland casino, police say.

Fat Trel (Anne Arundel County Police)

Fat Trel (Anne Arundel County Police)

The rapper signed to Maybach Music Group — the Atlantic Records subsidiary run by Rick Ross — was caught attempting to exchange $450 in fake bills for chips at Maryland Live Casino.

The 25-year-old emcee — real name Martrel Reeves — told investigators he acquired the counterfeit bills at 7-11 ATM in D.C., a police report says. But Trel told a different story on Twitter the next day, posting, “An ATM? I don’t even own a bank card. Picture Big Gleetchie [a nickname] at a ATM.”

In a tweet that’s since been deleted, Fat Trel said he got the counterfeit bills from a promoter.

The rapper, a native of Northeast D.C., first rose to prominence in 2011 with street hits like “Respect With the Teck.” He signed to Maybach Music Group in 2013.

Trel was charged with a misdemeanor in Anne Arundel County. He’s now back on the street, posting regularly on Instagram and Twitter.

Bandwidth could not reach the rapper’s attorney, who is on vacation.