Prison Time For Band Frontman

Lights Over Paris’ Robert Mawhinney scored more than $11 million in loans from banks after submitting fake documents claiming his band was already big and had almost $8 million in assets.

“This is a case about a man who couldn’t qualify to get loans, so he faked up a bunch of documents to show the bank, falsely, that he had enough income and enough assets to be creditworthy,” assistant U.S. Attorney Ranee Katzenstein told KCBS-TV.

Mawhinney went so far as to schedule a meeting with loan officers at a recording studio in Burbank, where the singer claimed he was a part-owner of the studio, a ghostwriter for several artists and planned to use a portion of the money to help finish a recording room, according to court documents.

Instead, Mawhinney used the money to fund a rock ’n’ roll lifestyle that included an apartment in a luxury high-rise downtown, international travel and a tour bus worth more than $750,000, authorities said.

“The motive was ego and greed,” Katzenstein continued. “He used the money to spend on trips, on high-living, on funding a musical career which he couldn’t fund through talent and through actual sales of records. He stole the money to fund the fantasy of being a rock star.”

Mawhinney also allegedly helped two associates fraudulently obtain about $1.7 million in loans for their music business.

He pleaded guilty in April to four counts of making false statements to banks and one count of money laundering, according to the Los Angeles Times, but one day later made more false statements to a bank in order to secure additional funds, leading the judge presiding over the case to revoke his bond.

Despite the prison sentence, Mawhinney isn’t giving up on his dream to be a rock star.

A memorandum filed by his attorneys noted he recently secured a recording contract with Japanese label Avex, the Times reported.

“Upon his release from prison, if there is still an opportunity to perform on this contract, Mr. Mawhinney intends to complete the album for Avex and use the monies he obtains from his contract and other employment towards satisfying an expected restitution order,” the memorandum said.