A man from Berkley, California has been sentenced to two years in prison for misrepresenting his affiliations with the rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The 49-year-old man, Quincy Krashna, lied about his connection with the band to a group of Eastern Europeans seeking to promote a show featuring the Los Angeles-based band. He told the promoters that he could secure the band if they provided a $450,000 down payment for the performance. To sell the fraud, Krashna created a fake escrow account, appearing to originate from Chase Bank, and asked the promoters to wire money into this account. He then distributed this money, which turned out to be in his personal account, throughout different accounts under his name.
Earlier this year, Quincy Krashna pleaded guilty to the fraudulent behavior and was charged with seven counts of wire fraud. He pleaded guilty to one count and the remaining were dismissed. Krashna was scheduled for a sentencing where he faced a maximum of 20 years in prison.
As of Tuesday, Krashna was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay back the $450,000 in restitution to the concert promoters, East Bay Times reports. Following his sentence, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White ordered Krashna to serve a three-year term of supervised release.
