Musician Guilty of Wire Fraud:
Vancouver musician, Kacey Anderson, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges associated to a scheme in which he raised over $500,000 for several fake charity projects. Anderson entered his guilty plea before a United States District Court in Tacoma on Wednesday where he admitted to defrauding at least 30 investors in order to fund music related endeavors. According to prosecutors, Kacey Anderson has currently paid back $160,258 to the victims of his fraud.
The United States Attorney’s Office reports that Anderson collected money between 2009 and 2011 for a compilation album titled “Trapped Like a Ghost.” Anderson claimed the proceeds of this album would go towards legal counsel for the “West Memphis Three,” who had been convicted of murdering three boys in Arkansas almost 20 years ago. Anderson told investors he had agreements with several artists to perform tracks on the album including: Eddie Vedder, R.E.M., Tom Waits, Willie Nelson, Foo Fighters and Johnny Depp. He predicted the album would sell over $85,000 copies. In addition to the “West Memphis Three” project, Anderson also solicited investors for three other music-related projects using forged documents and false representations.
According to the federal statutes in this case, Kacey Anderson could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for November 22, 2013.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Bates and Andrew Friedman.