It’s a hard knock life for a man who had a short run pretending to be a JAY-Z Roc Nation affiliate and Wu-Tang Clan associate. New reports claim a Florida man is heading to prison for nearly 10 years as a result of his scam.
159 Views
Comments Off on Fake Wu-Tang + JAY-Z Affiliate Hit W/ Prison Time
Fake Wu-Tang + JAY-Z Affiliate Heads To Prison
According to reports, 29-year-old Aaron Barnes-Burpo received a 7-year federal prison sentence this week after pleading guilty to committing wire fraud. A co-conspirator is also awaiting sentencing.
The swindlers’ triumph came to a halt Nov. 21, 2019, when their so-simple deception seemed off to hotel staff at a Fairfield Inn and Suites in Augusta, Ga. Barnes-Burpo claimed to be with Roc Nation, an entertainment and management company founded by Jay-Z, when he tried to book 10 rooms and have a $2,500 credit applied to a king suite for an artist and his entourage, according to the complaint. He would provide a credit card number for authorization as long as they didn’t charge it, he told staffers, because he was planning to pay with a certified check at the end of the stay. (Washington Post)
A bogus Roc Nation e-mail account was used during the scam. However, a hotel executive at a Georgia spot ultimately caught wind of something fishy happening.
[email protected] emailed the hotel with a credit authorization form that showed the credit card was linked to a Kansas address and identified the guest as “Rocnation/WuTangClan,” according to court documents. The hotel’s director of sales noticed the same group had tried to book rooms weeks before. She called a legal representative at Roc Nation, who confirmed that the entertainment agency had received several calls about the scam from four or five hotels. (Washington Post)
Fat Joe’s Ready For Raekwon/Ghostface VERZUZ
On a lighter note, Wu-Tang fans are gearing up for an epic VERZUZ battle. New York rapper Fat Joe recently shared his anticipation for the Clan’s Raekwon and Ghostface Killah facing off this weekend with their classic records.
“Lock it in ,this is Beyond Legendary @raekwon @realghostfacekillah @verzuztv”
Ludacris + Larenz Tate Celebrate VERZUZ Sale
Last week, Grammy-winning rapper Ludacris came forward to celebrate VERZUZ being sold to digital platform Triller. Luda also acknowledged how past participants in the monthly battle series are now stakeholders in the short form video app as a result of the deal.
“Kings ? & Queens ? Rise Higher Together ???? Thank You @therealswizzz & @timbaland Honored to Be a Part Of This History”
Hollywood actor Larenz Tate specifically pointed out this way of thinking and business-making should become a required action.
“Owners Shareholders this how WE MUST do business in order to THRIVE”
“✊???”
Swizz Beatz + Timbaland Capitalize With New Deal
The VERZUZ new deal will leave the two creators and producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland as members of the Triller Verzuz management team. Beatz spoke about the situation and praised Triller for how beneficial they are for artists and creatives alike.
“This is what we were supposed to do — even though everyone felt like they’d already gotten paid from streams and sponsorships. We never took any of the money from those things. People were saying, why are you guys giving away so much. But we’d say we’re not giving away anything, we’re sharing because we didn’t build Verzuz by ourselves. It would have taken us four years to raise capital for Verzuz, so why dilute our shares? In doing so, there wouldn’t have been enough to bring everybody here. That’s why we had to be very smart and calculated on how we transitioned [for the future] by merging into a company that had already raised the capital and had valuation.” (Billboard)
