MIAMI (CelebrityAccess) — After spending years fighting extradition from Brazil, former Worldwide Entertainment promoter Jack Utsick has been denied bail while he faces prosecution in a a $300 million fraud case.
According to the New York Times, Prosecutor Jerrob Duffy alleges that Utsick fled to Brazil in 2007 to avoid prosecution, but Utsick's attorney, Philip Pitzer, says Utsick went to Brazil in pursuit of a business venture.
The SEC has charged Utsick and his partners with operating his company, Worldwide Entertainment, like a Ponzi scheme, taking investments to produce shows and purchase venues, but allegedly instead using the investments to pay off previous investors and support his comfortable Miami lifestyle.
Pitzer told The Times that Utsick intends to plead innocent to eight counts of mail fraud counts a maximum potential sentence of 160 years. – Staff Writers
