OAKLAND, CA (CelebrityAccess) — A California entertainment executive is facing charges that he defrauded two Eastern European concert promoters of $450,000 over a series of shows by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Krashna, 49, who operated a Berkeley concert business called Left of Center Productions Inc., pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Federal Court to one count of wire fraud.
In a written plea, Krashna admitted that he misrepresented to concert promoters his connections to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and said he could secure the band for concerts in Eastern Europe.
Krashna also admitted that he told the concert promoters that he would hold in an escrow account a $450,000 deposit to secure the band’s services and that the money would be returned to the promoters if Krashna was unable to secure the Peppers to perform at the shows
However, instead of an actual escrow account, Krashna admitted that he created a fake escrow with Chase Bank that was actually a personal bank account that he controlled and transfered the money out of said account for his personal use.
He was indicted on a total of seven counts of wire fraud related to the alleged scheme, but as part of his plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop six of the seven charges. He also agreed to pay restitution to the promoters of $450,000.
Krashna faces sentencing on July 10th, with the maximum statutory penalties for wire fraud are 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release.
