Miami, FL Law Blog for Entertainment Law, Business Law, and Public Interest

Company booked fake concerts, ran off with money

By Pankaj Ladhar of Manos • Alwine P.L.

A company filed a lawsuit against Black Velvet Entertainment and its chief, alleging that it falsely claimed to represent musicians and would book them for concerts. One of the singers the company said it represented was Kanye West.
In 2009, Black Velvet contacted the company and said that they would book a concert with Kanye West for $45,000. Eventually, Black Velvet “came clean” about not representing Kanye West, but would apply the money to book another concert. The company sent another $100,000 to Black Velvet for another concert, but learned that Black Velvet did not represent that singer, nor did it apply the $45,000 to the booking fee for the second concert.

According to allegations in the lawsuit, the company alleged that Black Velvet had every intention of conning the company from the beginning. The company did not realize this until after Black Velvet offered another booking with a $10,000 binder, and the money was wired to Black Velvet. Documents say that the whole situation turned into a shell game.

The plaintiff company also states that they did not know that Black Velvet had been defrauding business partners for over 10 years. The defendants Black Velvet and its chief allegedly had been setting bookings for all this time, when they had no authority from the personalities to do so. Once Black Velvet solicited money from companies, it would disappear. According to court documents, the plaintiff company is seeking punitive and compensatory damages for conspiracy to defraud, fraud, breach of contract and conversion.

Source: Pollstar, “Fake Kanye Concert Lawsuit,” April 21, 2012