Hip-hop orchestra concert in Carrick suspected to be 'widespread scam'
The concert was billed as a symphony performance of music from two hip-hop icons
The concert was billed as a symphony performance of music from two hip-hop icons
The concert was billed as a symphony performance of music from two hip-hop icons
What was billed online as an orchestra performance of music by hip-hop legends Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. is suspected of being a scam.
"It's so frustrating," said Jennifer Perry, who spent $100 on tickets to take her boyfriend.
The pair showed up at the listed address in Pittsburgh's Carrick neighborhood on Saturday for the show, only to see a note on the door saying there was no show scheduled.
The event was listed online as being run by Alternative Symphony, but the building houses HearCorp, which is a "full service event production company," according to its website.
In a posting on its Facebook page, HearCorp writes in part:
"It has come to our attention that this 'event' is suspected to be part of a widespread scam carried out by an overseas entity called ARB Marketing. Unfortunately, this company has shut down any means of contact, leaving affected parties with no resources for further information."
HearCorp writes it is not affiliated with the entities involved, and has contacted the state attorney general's office. COO Brendan Elder said in an email to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that HearCorp had actually been approached by ARB Marketing about holding the concert, “but we were never involved with the ticketing process, and never formally confirmed a booking with them as a deposit was never paid.”
He said ARB Marketing initially was looking at April 20 for the concert, then later June 22. However, after HearCorp asked about the deposit, ARB Marketing said it would be pulling the shows and issuing refunds.
“We did not realize people had not gotten their refunds until we recently began receiving inquiries about the status of the event the week of the original scheduled date of April 20,” according to Elder.
An official from the attorney general's office said the state Bureau of Consumer Protection had received two complaints related to this concert advertisement.
Perry said she bought the tickets in February and received an email confirmation with the tickets.
"They made it so believable," she said. "Any connection between the site that you used, or when they send you the confirmation, all that stuff is shut down. So there's literally nowhere to go."
HearCorp is encouraging people who bought tickets to reach out to the attorney general's office as well as their financial institutions.
