Bogus Booker Scams Clubs

One sure way to lose money in the concert business is to pay an advance booking deposit to a scam artist posing as an agent. Such frauds are not uncommon and are generally low-priority matters when reported to police.

Such is the case with a con man posing as the agent for David Lee Roth. At least three different U.S. nightclubs were taken in by the scam and two of them, including The Venue in Scottsdale, Ariz., lost thousands of dollars in deposits.

Diamond Dave switched his representation in May from CAA to Monterey Internationall, where Garry Buck is the responsible agent. The scammer appears to be working out of the Chicago area and has used a variety of names. Much to the real agent’s chagrin, he has even claimed to be “Gary Buck.”

Pollstar maintains the industry standard database of legitimate booking contacts. Both David Lee Roth and the real Garry Buck urge inexperienced club bookers to beware of such scams offering the artist for what seems like a song unless they like to watch their money “Jump” off a cliff.