A 52-year-old man will be considered a senior citizen when he is released from prison for posing as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan and pretending to be an employee of Roc Nation, to run a nationwide scam.
Walker Washington, 53, of Augusta, Georgia, is heading to prison for more than 8 years (100 months) in prison, 19 businesses out of more than $300,000.
Washington and his buddy Aaron Barnes-Burpo, 29, used fake, and or stolen credit cards to rent Rolls-Royce’s, limousines, swindle hotels, cheat caterers, and steal services from production studios throughout the Southeast region of the United States.
They ran the scam from at least September 2019 until November of 2019.
The scam fell apart after an eagle-eyed staff member at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Augusta became skeptical of the pair and contacted the FBI.
Both men have admitted to they pretended to be members of the Wu, and acted as though they were employees of Roc Nation.
“These two scammers will have plenty of time to figure out if their few weeks of unearned fame was worth several years in prison,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “With this sentence, law enforcement and the victims of their scam, have spoken loudly that we won’t tolerate anyone who takes anything they do not earn or deserve.”
Like Walker, his partner Burpo also pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, and he was hit with a 7-year prison sentence.