2 men posing as Wu-Tang Clan members plead guilty to scamming hotels, businesses

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Two men who were posing as members of the iconic rap group Wu-Tang Clan have been arrested for scamming hotels for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Aaron Barnes-Burpo of Florida, United States, has been sentenced to seven years in prison on Monday, March 15, as per The Augusta Chronicle on the same day. He has admitted to defrauding hotels of free services by pretending to be a star from the hip-hop group.

Barnes-Burpo has also been ordered to pay around $300,000 (about P14.6 million) to the 19 businesses he scammed along with his co-defendant Walker Washington, who currently awaits sentencing after also admitting to committing the crimes.

The two, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, were apparently caught by “an alert hotel clerk,” acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia David H. Estes said in a release cited by the report.

“For several weeks, these men defrauded multiple businesses by posing as famous musical artists and their retinue,” he was quoted as saying.

The two admitted pretending to be part of the Wu-Tang Clan and affiliated with Jay Z’s Roc Nation entertainment firm as early as September 2019.

Just around two months after they allegedly started the scam, the staff at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Georgia became suspicious of the two and alerted police.

Aside from scamming hotels, Barnes-Burpo and Washington also used stolen credit cards to rent luxury limousines, caterers and production studios in goods and services in several cities, the report said.

The real Wu-Tang Clan was originally formed in Staten Island, New York City back in 1992. The original members consist of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

The group is still going strong after three decades, with RZA still in charge while other members contribute from time to time along with other affiliate artists.

In 2019, the 10-episode fictional retelling of the group’s formation “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” premiered on Hulu. The release date of the show’s second season is yet to be announced. Ian Biong/JB

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