Terronce Morris, 42, of Missouri City, Texas, He was sentenced to 57 months in prison for a fraud scheme plotted with another accomplice that “involved fake music concerts with famous artists,” including those mentioned.
Morris had pleaded guilty last February to conspiring to commit “mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges”according to the Department of Justice’s statement.
His accomplice, Blake Kelly, 37, of Los Angeles, California, had also pleaded guilty last January to the same charges of fraud and aggravated identity theft. “forging and using JB’s (Justin Bieber) signature “on false and fraudulent concert contracts.”
They both fabricated contracts with fake signatures from Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish and Post Malonein which they secured their performances for a music festival, according to NBC News last February.
According to court documents, between December 2019 and March 2020, Morris and Kelly They fraudulently obtained approximately US$1.3 million from a victimwhom they persuaded to give them money for the supposed production of a music festival with the aforementioned artists.
Terronce Morris and Blake Kelly pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud after they pitched a fake music festival before collecting $1.35 million.
Head to the link below to read more on the conspiracy 👇https://t.co/XEBkmsRGeZ
— EDM.com (@TheEDMNetwork) February 26, 2024
Morris created fake and fraudulent email accounts impersonating the artists themselvesas if they had sent the signed contracts to Kelly and himself.
Both also elaborated “Several false and fraudulent concert contracts forging the signatures of the artists“.
Also, during a video call with the victim, Morris and Kelly had an accomplice posed as Bieber to deceive the victim making him believe that this artist had agreed to perform in the concert series.
Morris continued with his fraud scheme after receive several cease and desist letters from the artists’ lawyers.
Just months after stealing $1.3 million from the victim, in October 2020 Morris “used more fake and forged contracts (from Bieber) than created to deceive another victim,” from whom he defrauded US$500,000.
Based on these fake contracts, this other victim sent Morris a check for US$250,000 for the planned performance.Morris quickly deposited those funds” and, as in the case of the other victim, “He used those funds for himself and not for a concert. with musical artists.”
From May 2021 through December 2023, Morris stole an additional $850,000 from two more victims.
Morris and Kelly used the fraudulently obtained money to enrich themselves and “finance a luxurious lifestyle for them and their accomplices, which included Travel, buy luxury items, pay for luxury services and dine at expensive restaurants“.
#Man #impersonated #artists #Justin #Bieber #obtained #US3 #million #sentenced
