Though DMX’s tardy
appearances and no-shows at scheduled performances have been well documented,
the Yonkers rapper was the victim of a real concert scam in Springfield, Illinois
this past weekend.
Booking agents
spent at least $1,325 to arrange DMX’s performance at the Orr Building on Illinois
State Fairgrounds, according to Springfield’s State Journal-Register.
The phony concert
brought in an estimated 500 people. But around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 5),
the crowd was told that DMX would not be performing and that two men posing
as the rapper’s brother and nephew allegedly stole the ticket money, State Journal-Register
reported.
Local concert promoters
Darryl Williams and Mike Williams, president of One in a Million Inc., said
they reserved the Orr Building on Saturday, hoping to schedule a concert by
rapper Lil’ Wayne.
A man who identified
himself as Robert Walker and posed as a Ruff Ryders manager contacted fairground
representatives about booking the DMX concert on that date and subsequently
contacted the Williams’ seeking help “promoting” the DMX concert.
The scam artists
hired local police, advertised on Kiss 99.7 and hired a limousine to take them
from their hotel, which they never had a room in, to the Orr Building.
Once there, they
conducted sound checks and began to stall. At one point, one of the men stepped
outside to make an “emergency phone call.”
He ordered a guard
to watch the area that ticket sales were being collected. A short while later,
the Williams’ noticed the money was gone and the men could not be found.
Ticket holders
were told they would be reimbursed by the venues where they purchased tickets.
However, the businesses
said they are unable to issue refunds because the total ticket money, roughly
between $8,000 and $9,000, was collected before the concert.
DMX was actually
in Arizona recording his upcoming album on Saturday. Label representatives could
not be reached for comment but stated that
DMX may record a radio statement to apologize to fans and clear up the matter.
The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the incident.
