MIAMI (AP) — A former music promoter who produced shows for top-name acts such as the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Aerosmith is scheduled to enter a formal plea in a $300 million fraud case after his extradition from Brazil.
An arraignment hearing is set Wednesday in Miami federal court for 72-year-old Jack Utsick. Prosecutors say he fled to Brazil in 2006 amid investigations by the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission into his Worldwide Entertainment Inc. promotion company. He was extradited last year.
Authorities say the business was actually as a Ponzi scheme, with older investors being paid with money from newer ones. An estimated 3,300 investors were defrauded out of nearly $300 million.
Utsick is charged with eight counts of mail fraud, each carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
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