Scam artist allegedly takes thousands of dollars from local businesses
A local man is accused of using a celebrity’s name to take thousands of dollars from valley businesses, some of that money was meant to help with a sick child.
“I want everyone to know what a scam artist the guy is,” said John Labrano, owner of the bar Red Barn of Palm Desert.
According to Labrano one of his patrons, Ron Edwards, came to Labrano with a business deal in which Edwards claimed he was trying to book comedian Martin Lawrence for a show here in the Coachella Valley.
Labrano told KESQ that Edwards asked for $30,000 to book Martin Lawrence for the gig, and he told Labrano he’d make twice as much money back after the tickets were sold. So Edwards drew up a contract and Labrano gave him the money.
“Within a matter of 3 or 4 days I felt that we were being conned because I only asked him for two things, that was the wire transfer to Martin Lawrence’s camp, attorney, agent, or manager, and a signed contract by Martin Lawrence’s, attorney, agent or manager, and he could never produce that,” said Labrano.
The $30,000 didn’t come from John Labrano, but from his son and bartender at the Red Barn, Steven Labrano. The cash came from a savings account used to take care of Steven’s son, 19-month-old Parker Dau, who was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome which is a condition that affects the growth of bones and other tissues of the face.
“He made it seem like Martin Lawrence was going to Agua Caliente and we are going to get our money on a certain day, so it looked like a good investment, and it turned out the guy is a scammer,” said Steven Labrano.
The family started looking into if Martin Lawrence was a business associate with Ron Edwards or knew of Ron Edwards’ company PowerHouse Entertainment, so they contacted Lawrence’s official booking agent.
“They sent me a confirmation stating we never done business with Ron Edwards, we don’t know who you are talking about, it’s unfortunate that this guy used our comedians name to grab money from you guys,” said Julee Rios, John Labrano’s fiancee.
Labrano printed flyers and made Facebook posts about his dealings with Edwards. Within hours multiple business owners reached out to Labrano claiming they were victims of the same scam. None of them wanted to talk on camera or have their names used for the story, some saying they are embarrassed, but the total of all the alleged victims is around $175,000.
“This is all brand new, I think that once they [other business owners] see that we have come forward and there is nothing to be embarrassed about, I have been a business man for years, I have done a lot of different kinds of business, and when someone deceives you it’s not a bad business decision, the guy is lying to you,” said John Labrano.
KESQ contacted Ron Edwards by phone, and he told us we would have to talk to his lawyer. He never gave us the contact information for his lawyer, but Edwards said the lawyer would contact us. So far that hasn’t happened.
Edwards did tell KESQ he has a restraining order against John Labrano, which Labrano says is true, but Labrano also claims he never threatened Edwards.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case.
All major business decisions with a lot of money on the table should always go through a lawyer, no matter how well you think you know the people you are working with.
