Terre Haute stores sold passes to alleged Lil' Flip show
From record stores to a college fraternity, most of the people let down by a concert last weekend said they had never heard of the show's promoter and at times doubted his legitimacy.
Three artists performed Saturday night at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds, but main acts Lil' Flip and JQwan failed to show up after what local police estimate as more than $20,000 in ticket sales.
Representatives of radio station 100.7 Mix-FM and other advertisers and entertainers involved say even if they promoted the concert, they didn't organize it.
Matthew Easterling does not usually give free advertising through Big Promotions, a business he and a partner recently began to help attract entertainment and promote area night life.
"We were acting on good faith Š just hoping to build a relationship with a major recording artist," said Easterling in giving away several free tickets and advertising the weekend show primarily through the business' Web site
www.partyonthe.net.
Easterling said promotions were through a man who called himself Bobby West of Bobby West Productions.
Whenever he asked West about his connection with rap artist Lil' Flip, Easterling said West seemed to avoid the question.
The Terre Haute Police Department issued a warrant this week for the arrest of Scott Elkins, who is believed to be West. Elkins has been charged with concert scams in two other states.
Police also are looking for a man working with West under the name Charlie Worthington.
Representatives of Terre Haute stores Revolutions and Headstone Friends both said they talked to the promoters and were sent tickets to sell without asking for them.
"We never agreed to sell the tickets and I believe, neither did Headstone," said Revolutions manager Cathy Gall. "Both record stores said they would get back to him [West or Worthington]."
But after the tickets showed up, Revolutions sold 730 for $20 each.
"We never sell anything this big," Gall said. "We really regret it now; it's really sad."
She said West and Worthington were convincing in marketing themselves and the show.
West picked up ticket proceeds at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Revolutions, Gall said, about three hours before the concert began.
Gall said the store is asking ticketholders to keep proof of their purchase as a police investigation continues.
"Everyone's been very understanding," Headstone co-owner Connie Alvey said of concert-goers. Her store sold 125 tickets.
During the investigation, Alvey said the business is collecting names and ticket and phone numbers from concert patrons who bought tickets at Headstone or at the fairgrounds.
Phi Beta Sigma signed a contract with Worthington that gave $1,500 "to secure Lil' Flip's appearance at our after party," said Adeola Adediran, president of the fraternity's Indiana State University chapter.
The funds were from chapter accounts to book the artist for an hour after the concert.
"Normally our fraternity doesn't do business like that," Adediran said, but pays by cashier check or other method. "Had they had cashed the check, that would have been a paper trail to follow."
Adediran said Worthington only claimed to have time for a short meeting when the fraternity signed the contract Saturday, avoiding questions about his relationship with Lil' Flip.
Sony Music Entertainment, the parent company for Lil' Flip's label, did not return calls for comment. However, the Terre Haute Police Department said the artist was not connected with the concert.
Adediran said he was worried that people might doubt performers will show up at future Phi Beta Sigma events.
The Wabash Valley Fairgrounds was contacted over the winter about being host for a Lil' Flip concert. Vigo County Sheriff's Department deputies were hired for event security. They were paid along with a deposit for the venue, said the fairgrounds' maintenance supervisor.
"They even had insurance," said Brad Anderson, fairgrounds board president.
He said the fairgrounds had expected about 200 people, but Anderson estimated the concert drew at least 1,200.
He was unsure if what happened Saturday would affect future concert decisions.
"You know, the kids are the ones who really get the black eye," Anderson said.
The Indiana Attorney General's Office has not received any complaints surrounding the concert, said spokeswoman Sarah Rittman.
She said complaints are looked at individually in determining any action that could be as serious as a lawsuit against a person or business involved in deception.
But "90 percent of our cases are mediation only," Rittman said.
The Attorney General's office can be contacted at 1-800-382-5516 or online at
www.IN.gov/attorneygeneral.
John Chambers can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or
john.chambers@tribstar.com.
