Va. Beach man sentenced for concert fraud scheme

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia Beach man is going to prison for defrauding investors who thought they were backing concerts by prominent entertainers, including Beyonce, Prince and Jay Z.

The U.S. attorney’s office says 43- year-old Kensey Lamonte Wright was sentenced to three years and five months in prison Wednesday in federal court in Richmond. Wright entered a guilty plea to wire fraud in June.

According to court documents, between January 2007 and December 2013 Wright acted as a representative for concert promoters. He promised investors returns as high as 100 percent within just two weeks to two months, and represented to investors that their money would be used to produce and promote concerts. Instead, he used the vast majority of the money for gambling and personal expenses.

Investors lost about $940,000.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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