A surveillance video from Texas has advanced the investigation into the Bernie Mac performance that didn't occur Nov. 18 in Athens.
San Angelo reporters contacted the Athens Police Department in early January when they heard about the Bernie Mac scam and realized it mirrored a similar situation in Texas last December. The video was taken at one of two stores where the San Angelo scam artist picked up a portion of the $40,000 in ticket sales he collected for a fake performance.
The surveillance video shows a male that fits the description of the man that came to collect ticket money in Athens
said Athens police officer Rick Olexa.
The video shows the full-body profile of a thin, six-foot-tall black man in his mid 30s. He was well-dressed and had his arm in a sling, Olexa said.
Ticket vendors in Athens said the man very closely resembled the man in the video, Olexa said.
According to The San Angelo Standard-Times, a man matching this description collected $28,700 from Rollerz Outlet and $11,700 from Elite Physique for a concert featuring Ashanti, Chris Brown and Twista on Dec. 28.
Customers in Athens lost approximately $11,000 in the fake comedy show case, which was supposed to take place in the Athens Community Center, 701 E. State St.
There are enough similarities in how the scam was set up (for the APD) to ask for a copy of the surveillance tape Olexa said.
San Angelo police and Olexa are working together to find the man on the surveillance tape.
They are also working to inform law enforcement agencies to contact the APD with information on similar scams, Olexa said.
APD has already heard of a fraud that occurred in Terre Haute, Ind., in April 2005.
Scott Elkins was arrested for allegedly promoting a fake concert featuring rapper Lil' Flip. Elkins was also arrested in August 2004 in connection with a scam featuring Lil Jon in North Dakota, according to The San Angelo Standard-Times.
Unless Elkins is associated with the San Angelo con artist, he has no connections with the Athens scam, Olexa said.
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Rebecca Black
