Dick Bickerton and daughter Lauren Rudd invested $925,000 in 2007 with Utah-based Ikon Partners, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.

The family thought they were backing concerts by Kenny Chesney, Maroon 5 and R. Kelly and was promised “above market” returns of 15 percent to 18 percent on the investment, the Deseret News reported.

Instead, the money bankrolled an alleged Ponzi scheme run by Arizona businessman Miko Wady, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to 10 counts of federal fraud and money laundering charges.

Wady allegedly bilked about 140 investors out of $25 million by falsely “promoting” tours by artists including The Rolling Stones and Barbra Streisand. Instead, he organized small shows by local artists and used cash from new investors to pay off the old ones – the standard definition of a Ponzi scheme.

In the Utah case, the lawsuit accuses Ikon execs Jaren Ahlmann, Dustry Dastrup and Jarom Dastrup of working with Wady and of being fully aware he was the subject of an FBI probe and several lawsuits, yet failing to share that information with investors.

All three Ikon execs are named as defendants and the $2.7 million represents approximate treble damages for the family’s life savings lost in the scheme, plus costs and attorney’s fees.

Court documents show that Bickerton and Rudd were asked to front funds for three R. Kelly shows in November and December 2007 in the form of a “joint venture agreement” that turned out to be nothing more than a set of investment contracts, according to the Deseret News.