The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida sentenced two people for their roles in a plan to mislead music fans and investors by staging fake concerts and artist engagements. According to a press statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Terronce Morris received a sentence of 57 months in federal prison on charges of mail and wire fraud conspiracy, along with aggravated identity theft.
Morris, 42, of Missouri City, Texas, and Blake Kelly, 37, of Los Angeles, California, allegedly engaged in deceptive tactics by forging signatures and impersonating musicians such as J.B., P.M., and B.E. in order to sell fake concert contracts. They conned victims out of roughly $3 million in all. Morris pleaded guilty on February 13, while Kelly pleaded guilty to the same conduct on January 9.
Morris and his accomplice appear to have initiated the deception in December 2019, convincing a victim named J.R. to invest $1,350,000 in an unplanned music event. According to court filings, the duo fabricated artist agreements and even faked a video chat with an impostor of musician J.B. in order to obtain the payments. Morris continued his dishonest techniques despite cease-and-desist letters from the genuine artists’ lawyers, scamming another victim of $500,000 with similar tactics, including false contracts and pledges.
Even after his original arrest, Morris showed no signs of stopping his operation. In December 2023, he met with a victim, W.P., and falsely told him that the fictional J.B. concert would “go on someday in the near future,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Morris’ actions throughout this charade, including opening a bank account using a victim’s personal information who shared J.B.’s name, demonstrate a flagrant disdain for the law and his victims’ financial well-being.
Kelly, the second person implicated, received a reduced term of 13 months in federal prison for his role in the operation. The FBI’s Miami Field Office conducted the investigation, with U.S. Attorneys Roger Cruz and Joan Silverstein leading the case. Those following the case can access updates and related court records on the websites of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the District Court for the Southern District of Florida, respectively.
