AUSTIN, TX (CelebrityAccess) — A former Austin-based concert promoter was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he plead guilty to securities fraud.
According to a news release by the Texas State Securities Board, David Elliott Rosen is facing 10 years in prison after fraudulently selling nearly $2 million worth of securities for his concert business. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $1.8 million.
Rosen was indicted in 2015 on securities fraud, theft, and money laundering charges resulting from his sale of investment contracts and promissory notes in a 'Concert Investment Program.' Rosen operated businesses under the names Rozone Productions LLC and Illuminated Entertainment Group LLC.
Rosen told investors he would use their money as funding to secure artists such asJustin Bieber, the Eagles, and the Black Eyed Peas for concerts. However, Texas assets that there werere no concerts featuring those artists.
Rosen had told investors that their money would be placed a third-party escrow account and would be refunded if the concert did not take place, but Rosen instead used the money to pay for his personal expenses, the state said.
Rosen sold the securities without disclosing that previous investors in the concert investment program did not receive the returns that were promised to them.
Rosen also pleaded guilty to theft by deception for an unrelated investment fraud. He was sentenced to 10 years in state prison and ordered to pay restitution of $809,000. The sentences will run concurrently.
Rozone Productions, Illuminated Entertainment, and Rosen filed for liquidation in the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas in 2010. – Staff Writers
