Jingle Ball Scam Adds Up

Hundreds of would-be concert-goers waited as long as six hours outside Texas’ San Angelo Convention Center January 7th for a refund to an Ashanti/Chris Brown/Twista concert that was never booked.

Local broadcast company Foster Communications, owner of KIXY-FM which advertised the concert, doled out $56,000 at the convention center by 6 p.m.

Hundreds of ticket holders still in line were instructed to go to the company’s radio studios for refunds later in the week, according to the city’s Standard-Times.

About 2,000 tickets were sold for the December 30th concert, billed as the “KIXY Jingle Ball Jam,” that was to take place at the convention center’s San Angelo Coliseum. But the deal was never completed by promoter Skip Stein, according to civic center exec Mike McEnrue.

McEnrue previously told Pollstar that Stein contacted officials after his attempt to book the event at Spur Arena fell through. But when Stein didn’t return two separate contract copies sent or faxed to him or fulfill other arrangements, McEnrue said it was “a bad sign.”

Stein had paid to advertise the fictitious event on KIXY. Neither the radio station nor two ticket outlets had any idea that Stein’s business, Universal Bash Stein Entertainment, was bogus or that the concert was never booked.

Fred Key, Foster Communications executive officer, said the company chose to foot the bill for the refunds even though it wasn’t responsible because the scam hurt the radio station’s credibility with the fans.

A KIXY representative filed a complaint against Stein with police, which is now under investigation, the paper said.