Octaveon Woods, the man who orchestrated the Spring 2017 scam that cost Emory $37,500, was sentenced on Friday to almost four years in federal prison, according to the Associated Press.
Woods pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the spring in the U.S. District Court of Northern Georgia. The Illinois native was sentenced to serve three years and 10 months, followed by 10 months of supervised release. Woods must pay restitution of $879,718 or less. The exact amount is to be determined, AP reported.
Woods was initially charged with five counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering in February and pleaded not guilty.
Although Woods made bond in February, he was later arrested and had his bond revoked for continuing to defraud people, according to court documents.
Using fraudulent companies, Woods falsely represented top musicians and celebrities and scammed entities, including Emory and the University of Missouri, out of tens of thousands of dollars.
He asked interested clients to pay him 50 percent of a booking fee upfront and would later redirect them to phony lawyers when the performer was a no-show, according to prosecutors.
“Woods convinced dozens of victims to pay him almost a million dollars to ‘book’ artists for concerts and festivals, when he had no relationship with the artists at all,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said in an Aug. 13 Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. “Woods will now face the consequences of his actions and his victims will receive a measure of justice.”
Last spring, Emory paid $37,500 to one of Woods’ companies, Global Talent Agency (GTA), to book hip-hop trio Migos for Dooley’s Week, the Wheel previously reported. Less than two weeks before the concert, the University found out GTA did not actually represent Migos. Emory booked rapper Ty Dolla Sign on short notice to headline the concert.
Emory did not respond to request for comment.
UPDATE (8/14/18 at 9:35 p.m.): The article has been updated to include a Department of Justice press release.
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