College Concert Scam

The new charges come almost a year after Jonathan Pinson was arrested and accused of taking kickbacks while serving as the Orangeburg, S.C., university’s board chairman.

A co-defendant, W.E. Entertainment partner Eric Robinson, was indicted on charges he attempted to use his influence at SCSU to broker a land deal in exchange for a $100,000 Porsche SUV, according to the Times and Democrat newspaper.

Robinson, who now faces 11 additional charges, is attempting to have his trial separated from that of Pinson, who himself is attempting to have the racketeering charge tossed, the paper reports.

The new indictment against Pinson says his activities included various types of financial crimes, including mail and wire fraud, extortion under color of law, bribery and money laundering.

It alleges Pinson and associates “cloaked their illegal activities with a false veneer of respectability.”

Most of the charges are related to non-concert university projects, land deals and construction projects for which Pinson and his associates allegedly sought kickbacks for help getting government contracts.

Another university trustee, Lance Wright, resigned from the SCSU board in February and pleaded guilty Dec. 4 to bank fraud and conspiracy.

Pinson’s name has reportedly turned up as an investor on projects named in the indictment of Wright.

Wright is a co-owner with Pinson on several properties, according to the paper, but the cases have not been formally linked.

To date, five people have pleaded guilty in connection to the case. Michael Bartely, SCSU’s former campus police chief, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and the Florida developer, Richard Zahn, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to defraud the federal government.

Two other co-investors entered guilty pleas along with Wright Dec. 4.