Two Men Charged With Faking Rihanna and Lady Gaga Concerts
All that glitters is not part of the Diamonds World Tour. Two men have been accused of posing as reps for Rihanna with connections to Lady Gaga, and duping concert promoters out of more than $2 million, reports CBS.
Sylvester Vincent Carroll, 47, of New Jersey and Meceo McEaddy (aka Ray Annis), 38, of New York, were indicted Thursday (July 18) on felony grand larceny and scheme to fraud charges.
According to prosecutors, since 2010 the men have tricked Brazilian concert promoters out of $1 million for a series of Rihanna shows in Rio De Janeiro and raked in $500,000 for promising that Lady Gaga would perform at a private party in Cancún.
McEaddy also faces criminal tax fraud charges and is accused of pulling in money for a fake Ke$ha show in Taiwan and another phony Lady Gaga show in Long Island.
“Rihanna’s ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’ could be an anthem for the legions of disappointed fans who heard about her concert in Brazil, only to learn that it had to be canceled before tickets even went on sale," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
According to the New York Post, the men used the money for "jewelry, car payments and travel."
Bail was set at $650,000 for Carroll and $1 million for McEaddy.
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(Photos from left: KP Pictures, PacificCoastNews.com, David Tonnessen, PacificCoastNews.com)