Promoter: Employee Burned Me

The promoter of a canceled Chaka Khan / Tyrese concert scheduled for July 10 in Rochester, N.Y., says he was was ripped off by one of his employees for thousands of dollars in ticket money and he’s filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit to get it back.

John Brown, owner of Extreme Graphix Ink and Sniper Inc., filed a lawsuit in Monroe County Superior Court claiming he hired Curtis Bell to handle most of the details for the concert scheduled at Main Street Armory.

Duties included tickets; advertising; hotel and travel accommodations; and sound and lighting. Brown agreed to pay Bell $7,500 to do the job, according to Courthouse News Service.

However, the lawsuit says the Armory was shut down by the city a few weeks before the show because of “various legal problems,” putting the kibosh on the event. A “large quantity” of tickets – including some VIP ducats – were allegedly in Bell’s possession at that time and more than $181,000 in tickets is allegedly missing.

Brown also claims that Bell owes him about $157,000 for concert expenses, according to CNS.

Main Street Armory and Ticketmaster are also named in the suit.