Lawsuit Filed In Bogus Timberlake Concert

A Connecticut concert promoter has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport claiming a phony agent ripped him off for a Justin Timberlake show that never happened.

In the lawsuit, Arnold Vegafria of ALV Events International claims he paid Kofi Degraft Johnson a $437,500 deposit to feature Timberlake at a November 2008 show in Manila but the singer didn’t show, according to the Greenwich Time.

The suit says Vegafria was originally trying to arrange for Rihanna to do the Manila show when he was put in contact with Johnson, who allegedly claimed he could get Rihanna and Chris Brown for the event. Vegafria then paid Johnson $100,000 in September 2008 to secure the singers’ performance and began promoting the event the next month.

That’s when Vegafria reportedly received a letter from William Morris Agency stating it represents Rihanna exclusively and she wasn’t available for the Manila event, the Time said.

When confronted, Johnson allegedly offered Timberlake as a substitute for the event instead of returning Vegafria’s $100,000 deposit. Another $337,500 exchanged hands when Vegafria met with Johnson to plan the Manila show.

The lawsuit says Vegafria stopped hearing from Johnson as the concert date grew near, according to the paper.