Bogus Promoter Sentenced

A Florida man involved in schemes to promote and sell tickets to non-existent concerts in Iowa and other states has been sentenced to six years in federal prison.

Scott Elkins of Tampa, Fla., received the sentence Friday from a federal judge in Iowa, where he had pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.

Elkins acknowledged that he and others had a scheme to defraud concert-goers by advertising and selling tickets to concerts they knew would not occur. Part of the scheme included a 2006 concert they promoted in Dubuque, where they mailed flyers, tickets and money orders to a radio station.

Prosecutors say the 38-year-old was also involved in fake concerts in Indiana, Alabama, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas and Ohio that victimized 2,700 people or more in total.