MANHATTAN (CN) - A British company claims in court that it was scammed for $1.1 million by two men using "multiple corporate shells" who said they could book Lady Gaga for a concert - and it says it's not the only one that's been cheated.
"Defendants and their co-conspirators have created an enterprise comprised of multiple corporate shells that is funded by and actively engaged in a pattern of defrauding businesses using the same concert scam," the federal complaint states. "When one corporation falls, defendants merely create another to take it place.
"Defendants have run the same scam before."
Banana Split PLC sued Red Entertainment Group Corp. dba Red Entertainment Agency, Carlos Fernandez aka Carlos Keyes, Sylvester Herbert Sylvester Carroll, and Nevada Style LLC.
Red Entertainment operates out of New York City; its founder and principal is Keyes, of North Bergen, N.J., according to the complaint.
Nevada Style is a New Jersey LLC; Carroll, of Whitehouse Station, N.J., filed for bankruptcy in May 2011, the complaint states.
"Defendants executed a web polished scheme to bill hundreds of thousands of dollars from foreign concert promoters by posing as entertainment agents and purporting to book concerts on behalf of famous music artists with whom they had no relationship whatsoever. The defendants pocketed the deposits and booking fees and secreted the money out of the reach of the concert promoter before their scam was found out," the complaint states.
The complaint state that several "nonparty corporations were funded either directly or indirectly for the purpose of carrying out the fraudulent laundering [of] the proceeds of a pattern of racketeering activity:".
Rebel One Management Inc., the complaint states, is or was "a nonparty business corporation operated by Ray Annis, a nonparty individual operated by Ray Annis, a nonparty individual involved with the defendants' prior scams to defraud. Rebel One was created to launder the proceeds of defendants' prior frauds and to shield the payout of funds from defendants' frauds." The complaint adds that the name of Rebel One Management is "deceptively similar" to the real booking agent for Rihanna, Rebel One LLC, and that the conspirators used that to bilk another victim for a bogus Rihanna concert (see below).
NFA Entertainment Inc., of New York City, "is the parent company of Rebel One and was created to facilitate the same scheme for which Rebel One was created," the complaint states.
Vegas Style Entertainment LLC and Vegas Style Talent Agency LLC, "are two nonparty limited liability companies owned and/or operated by Carroll. Vegas Style purports to be an entertainment and talent agency, but was created to launder the proceeds of defendants' prior frauds and to shield the payout of funds from defendants' frauds," according to the complaint.
Vincent Herbert, also a nonparty, "aided and participated in defendants' scheme to defraud plaintiff," the complaint states. And it says that Unique Sports and Marketing/Incresso Fácil is a foreign business that "is a previous victim of the defendants' fraud scam."