Senate Critical Of
Hawaii Mess

A state Senate investigation into the University of Hawaii’s Stevie Wonder concert fiasco this summer says the university staff involved in the arrangements were all at fault for the loss of $200,000 to a bogus booking agency.

The 32-page report issued Nov. 19 by the Senate Special Committee on Accountability said no one at the university researched whether Epic Talent LLC was the legitimate booking agent for Wonder and that there was a serious lack of communication between staff in various departments involved in the planning that began in April.

“It appears to your Committee that while each department played a part in trying to help make the Concert happen, the key players within the various departments were not communicating with each other to stop the transaction when certain components were not in place, such as insurance,” the report says. “They were relying on others to ensure that all the bases were covered, particularly the legitimacy of the payee.”

The school has yet to recover the $200,000 deposit it wired to Epic after advance tickets went on sale for the concert scheduled for Aug. 18. The event was canceled July 10 after Wonder’s real agent at CAA contacted the school and said Epic Talent had no authority to book the singer.

An FBI investigation into the mess led to the Nov. 9 indictment of Marc Hubbard of North Carolina on a wire fraud charge. His alleged cohort, Sean Barriero of Miami, was charged with transporting the funds as part of the scam. He has since pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities.

But that news doesn’t let UH officials off the hook, according to the report.

“Regardless of the fact that federal authorities have issued an indictment against two defendants in the scam, your Committee believes that proper oversight, due diligence, and communication among University administration and personnel would have presented an adequate number of opportunities to prevent the loss of the $200,000 deposit.”