Court Freezes Promoter Funds

A Texas promoter accused of bilking Brownsville city officials and a local developer out of booking fees for fictitious concerts earlier this year is still trying to work out his legal problems.

The Cameron County District Attorney’s office seized about $12,500 in a bank account for Hiro Jamal Hariram toward possible restitution in two felony theft charges filed against him in July, according to the Brownsville Herald.

Hariram is accused of pocketing $9,562 from the city for a canceled July 4 Boyz II Men concert allegedly booked under the guise he was an agent with Grabow Booking Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.

He is also accused of conning Richard Hope of Hope Properties out of $46,000 for a Sept. 5 concert to include two artists who have not been active performers for years: Shania Twain and Garth Brooks.

Michael L. Young, the promoter’s attorney, told the paper he’d been trying to work out an agreement with state prosecutors on the charges.

Young added that the money in the bank account isn’t from the funds paid by the city or Hope but instead belongs to Hariram’s wife’s business.

Hariram, who denies the allegations, has been free on $30,000 bail since his July arrest.

He previously said he’d canceled Boyz II Men in April or May because the city hadn’t made its payments on time and that issues with the city made it difficult to secure acts.