A faux concert promoter was sentenced to 30 months in prison by a Chicago judge after redirecting investor funds from four unfulfilled concerts and failing to pay income tax on her new balance.
Manilen Mendoza, a Filipino promoter, was indicted on three counts in the U.S. Northern District Court of Illinois Sept. 22, according to the Manila-based GMA News. The Chicago newspapers apparently did not cover the trial.
“Mendoza took investors’ money and converted it to her personal use but failed to report the money she received from her entertainment business as income on her tax returns,” IRS Special Agent Maria Suarez told GMA.
Mendoza ran a company called Infinity Productions and, later, Prestige Entertainment. According to Mendoza’s indictment, Mendoza recruited investors for four shows that never materialized. One was a supposed Lionel Richie gig in California in 2004, another was an Olivia Newton-John show in the Philippines in 2005 and two – Stevie Wonder and Kenny Rogers – were to take place in Illinois in 2006, according to GMA.
For the last two, Mendoza solicited $250,000 from Nora Gobert, who eventually asked for her money back but was told by Mendoza that the Department of Homeland Security had temporarily frozen her bank account, the indictment reportedly says. No such activity had taken place.
Over three years, Mendoza failed to report a gross income of $532,354 to the IRS, according to GMA.
Mendoza was most recently a caregiver in Schiller Park, Ill.
Click here to read the complete GMA article.