Home » Business News » IOWA concert organisers admit bank fraud to pay for kelly clarkson and maroon 5

IOWA concert organisers admit bank fraud to pay for kelly clarkson and maroon 5

By Hugh Fort in Business News, posted January 31, 2022

Two executives who gave false details about a concert in Iowa where singer Kelly Clarkson was set to perform have admitted bank fraud.

Doug Hargrave, 55, from Puyallup, Washington, and Aaron McCreight, 47, from Dothan, Alabama, both admitted a count of bank fraud.

Hargrave admitted the offences on Wednesday, January 26, and McCreight on Thursday, January 27.

The two were executives at Go Cedar Rapids (GoCR), which had planned and executed the three-day music and cultural event called Newbo Evolve in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2018

Mcreight was President and CEO, and, in the summer of 2018, Hargrave was finance director.

As the event approached, the company did not have enough money to either pay Clarkson for her performance or buy the alcohol sold at the event.

The two defrauded the financial institution that had extended a loan to GoCR by lying about the actual ticket sales, how much money they expected the event to make and the loss the company was expecting.

This was done to ensure the loan was agreed to support the event.

The two also created a false and fraudulent budget for the event to the bank to support the company's requested for an increased loan.

McCreight fraudulently misrepresented the number of tickets sold for performances by Clarkson and Maroon 5.

The bank agreed and increased the loan from $1.5 million to $2.2 million.

The two have been released on bond pending sentencing and face a maximum sentence of 30 years in jail, a fine, and a period of supervised release.

The case is being prosecuted by United States Attorney Sean R. Berry and Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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