Alleged nationwide concert scam affects Pittsburgh venue

A Pittsburgh special events venue, 25 Carrick Ave, has been hit by an alleged nationwide concert scam.

Brendan Elder, chief operating officer of Hearcorp, the audiovisual company that owns the space, had been in direct contact with a company called ARB Marketing that was looking to book a show.

The space at 25 Carrick Ave. is the site of a former church, and Elder said Heartcorp's special events there are rare — the last one was in November.

According to Elder, the representative he spoke to at ARB Marketing was named Alex Bowen, who said he was interested in bringing Alternative Symphony to play an orchestral version of Dr. Dre songs at the 25 Carrick Ave space.

“(ARB Marketing) actually sent out a press kit,” he said. “It was very professional.”

Elder said the company communicated via email that it wanted to book the concert quickly so tickets could be sold. After agreeing to host the event, Elder requested a deposit from ARB Marketing — which was never sent.

After requesting the deposit again within a month of the show, which he said was scheduled for April 20, he received an email from ARB Marketing announcing that the company was shutting down all operations and declaring bankruptcy.

Ticket holders will receive a refund within 30 days, Elder said, according to the email.

“That’s when the alarm bells went off in the back of my head,” he said. “Is this a scam?”

Elder was no longer able to reach ARB Marketing as all means of contacting the company by phone and email were closed. The website no longer exists either.

He filed a complaint with Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry's office the day the show was supposed to take place. He said at the time he was not aware the alleged scam was widespread.

Brett Hambright, the attorney general's press secretary, said the office's Consumer Protection Bureau had received five complaints related to ARB Marketing as of Friday. He said the office was unable to discuss any investigations or confirm their existence.

Elder said he received about 15 calls before the April show from people who had purchased tickets.

They said the website they purchased the tickets from was Ticket Tailor, a U.K.-based company, and there was no clear contact information ticket holders could use to contact the company, according to Elder.

Elder then discovered that ARB Marketing was selling tickets for a second date at 25 Carrick Ave – June 22. It was supposed to be a live Biggie and 2Pac concert, but Elder said he was completely unaware of the second planned event.

“I didn’t even see this being published,” he said. “It was just a shock and a disappointment.”

Ahead of both dates, he said he posted a sign on the door of the venue at 25 Carrick Ave alerting anyone showing up to the pre-scheduled concerts of the potential scam, and suggested ticket holders contact their credit card companies.

Hearcorp also posted on its Facebook page about the June event and how the company suspects it was part of a “widespread scam.”

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Clai Green owns wedding and event venue The Clybourn – where the exact same events took place with ARB Marketing.

A Facebook user also posted the same story from Denver, Colonel.

Dave Bjornson, a director of Hearcorp and owner of the building at 25 Carrick Ave, said Hearcorp was completely taken aback by the whole ordeal.

“Honestly, it’s a really good scam,” he said. “It’s an interesting concept and I can see why people would want to buy tickets to attend.”

Although no money ever exchanged between ARB Marketing and Hearcorp, Bjornson said he hopes those who purchased the tickets will be able to get their money back.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re kind of facing these consequences,” he said. “It puts us in a negative light with something we have nothing to do with — all we’re trying to do with this place is provide a service to the community.”