A scam artist has been jailed for posing as Justin Bieber and other music stars to defraud fans and investors.
Terronce Morris was convicted of mail and wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
The 42-year-old was jailed for four years and nine months.
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The defendant, of Missouri City, Texas, US, carried out the scam with Blake Kelly, 37, from Los Angeles, California.
Kelly pleaded guilty on 9 January this year, and Morris admitted his guilt on 13 February.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said they forged their signatures to sell contracts for bogus concerts.
They conned nearly £2.3 million ($3 million) from their victims.
The scam started in December 2019, when both defendants convinced one victim, identified as J.R., to plough £1.05 million ($1.35 million) into a fake music festival featuring Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish and Post Malone.
The victim paid the funds between December 2019 and March 2020.
According to court documents, Morris and Kelly forged artist contracts and even staged a video call with an accomplice pretending to be Bieber.
Morris also created fake email accounts to make it appear as though the artists had sent signed contracts directly to him and Kelly.
When the real artists caught wind of the scam, their lawyers sent out cease and desist letters.
However, Morris continued his deceptive practices and scammed another victim, A.M., out of £387,402 ($500,000) using the same tactics.
He even met with another victim, named W.P., in December last year, following his initial arrest.
He assured the victim that the fake Justin Bieber concert would “go on someday in the near future.”
In total, Morris conned £658,728 ($850,000) from W.P. and their associate S.H., for the same bogus concert.
The US Attorney’s Office stated: “In yet another separate, yet related instance, in November 2021, Morris met with victim M.P and received a $350,000 cashier’s cheque in the name of J.B. (Justin Bieber) on behalf of victims N.V. and J.F.
“The total fraud loss from Morris’ musical artist fraud scheme is close to $3,000,000.
“Morris and Kelly used the fraudulently obtained money to enrich‘Would-be robber’ shouts ‘I’m in trouble’ after trapping himself in roof vent themselves and finance a lavish lifestyle for themselves and their accomplices.”
Kelly received a lighter prison sentence of 13 months for his part in the scam, as reported by Need To Know.
The investigation was carried out by the FBI’s Miami Field Office and prosecuting attorneys Joan Silverstein and Roger Cruz.
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