LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — A Texas-based concert promoter who bilked investors, promoters, and performers who invested money in concerts and World Wrestling Entertainment events, was sentenced on Monday to almost five years in a federal prison.
Gabriel Martin Reed, 47 – a former Malibu resident who currently lives in McKinney, Texas – was sentenced by United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez.
Reed pleaded guilty in November to one count of wire fraud and admitted that he defrauded his victims by making false promises and then using their money for personal expenses, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
According to court documents, for almost nine years, Reed represented himself as a promoter and organizer of hard rock and wrestling events. Reed solicited investors by touting what he claimed were longstanding relationships with well-known musicians, showing props from alleged previous tours, and fabricating records related to music events, Federal Prosecutors stated.
Instead of using the money for the promised events, however, Reed used it to pay his rent, utility bills, and travel expenses.
When he pleaded guilty, Reed specifically admitted to defrauding one Los Angeles investor, who agreed to put $100,000 into a 2016 concert tour Reed was calling “Titans of Rock.” However, many of the promised artists had not agreed to participate in the purported tour.
Prosecutors have asked Judge Gutierrez to order Reed to pay restitution to his victims. The court will schedule a hearing, likely early this summer, to determine the amount of restitution.
Reed got off relatively light and could have faced statutory maximums of up to 20 years in the hoosegow.
