Man Posing As Adele Rep Arrested

A Florida couple accused of impersonating artist representatives in order to acquire free concert tickets and swag was arrested by Miami-Dade police May 6 after attempting to get comps for Kendrick Lamar at the Rolling Loud festival.

– Rolling Loud Music Festival

Police believe the couple impersonated Adele manager Jonathan Dickins for the past year by emailing other reps requesting free tickets and merchandise.

It apparently wasn’t the first time, either. Police say Justin Jackson and his wife, Angel Lii, are suspected of pulling the same scam to get tickets for Rihanna, Usher, Drake, Katy Perry, Chris Brown, and Pharrell Williams, according to the Miami Herald. 

Jackson is already well-known to police and was once convicted of stealing $2.4 million in jewelry by posing as Madonna’s manager. He served two years in prison for convincing a New York boutique to “loan” the jewelry, later selling it to a South Florida pawn shop.

In 2014, Jackson was sued on allegations he posed as former NBA star Reggie Love, then an aide to President Barack Obama; Oprah Winfrey, and Oprah Winfrey Network exec Scott Garner.

In Love’s case, Jackson reportedly attempted to score Cheesecake Factory gift cards, and clothes and handbags from Juicy Couture. He allegedly attempted to use the Winfrey connections – and OWN letterhead – in attempts to land jobs with Perry Ellis, Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, and others.

But it looks like his latest run as an impersonator is coming to an end.

“Mr. Dickins has finally breathed a sigh of relief and hopes this fraud against him will stop once and for all,” Brian Bieber, the artist manager’s Miami attorney, told the Herald. “The defendants did consistently leave a blueprint of their fraud for the detectives to find. Essentially, we have a pair of dumb criminals.”

Investigators set up a sting operation after Dickins reported the scam more than a year ago. During the investigation, the Jacksons allegedly continued to request tickets for a variety of artists using the bogus email account, police told the paper. Lamar’s label, Interscope, had its own suspicions and contacted Dickins as well.

Jackson was tripped up by another impersonator – a cyber-crimes detective posing as a production manager, who arranged to meet Jackson and deliver Rolling Loud passes at Bayfront Park. Jackson reportedly told the detective he was Dickins’ assistant who was “working with his important clients all day,’ the Herald reports.

Jackson and his wife arrived to pick up the bogus passes and were arrested. They face grand theft and identity theft charges.