What kind of documentation does one need to convince an investor to put up millions of dollars for acts like the Rolling Stones, U2 or Lady Gaga to perform in concert? It turns out not much at all. Investors are popping up in growing frequency with claims of being victims for a massive fraud.
Take an Arizona individual named Miko Dion Wady, for example. The man plead guilty late last week to six counts of wire fraud and money laundering after being charged with defrauding more than 250 victim investors, who turned over an astonishing $50 million to him between 2004 and 2007.
According to the indictment, Wady falsely claimed he had entered into performance contracts and other business arrangements with a host of musicians, including the Stones, U2, Barbara Streisand, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Mariah Carey, Billy Joel, Jaimie Foxx, Peal Jam, Jimmy Buffet, and at least 30 other well known entertainers. Prosecutors alleged that he conducted a Ponzi scheme whereby investors gave loans for the financing of a particular concert or tour and were typically promised generous interest rates. Wady is alleged to have shifted money between bank accounts from old to new investors to make it appear as though money was being repaid.
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Wady now faces up to 150 years in prison. And the victims of Wady’s fraud aren’t alone.
Earlier this month, a Taiwan company called Bros Sports Marketing Co. sued a Houston, Texas-based individual who claimed to represent various NBA stars and performers and would bring them to Taiwan.
One of performers claimed to be a client was Lady Gaga.
The defendant, Ron Siegel, is said to have produced a letter from Lady Gaga’s manager and emails from the agency WME that purportedly gave him the rights to schedule concerts in Asia. After seeing those documents, Bros is said to have entered into a contract for two Lady Gaga concerts for $950,000 and allegedly wired $215,909 to Siegel directly.
The Taiwanese firm is now suing in Texas District Court to get its money back.
