At least two men, posing as members of the Wu-Tang Clan, are accused of scamming some of the South’s most exclusive hotels out of roughly $100,000.
Aaron Barnes-Burpo and Walker Washington told hotel workers they were with JAY-Z’s entertainment firm Roc Nation and claimed to be members of the legendary rap group Wu-Tang Clan. Per to legal docs filed this week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. But the duo didn’t stop there the legendary Georgian Terrance Hotel in Atlanta was left with a $45,000 unpaid bill, and members of the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta told the FBI the group also skipped out on roughly $39,000 at their establishment.
To keep the act going, the two also rented a Roll Royce Phantom from A-National Limousine, which they never paid for, and the company later reported a loss of nearly $60,000. Finally, if the two were to imposter rappers, they figured they might actually need to rap, and rented two Atlanta recording studios, which lost a total of more than $17,000, the complaint states.
Their run finally came to an end when Washington and Barnes-Burpo attempted to rent 10 rooms under Roc Nation and the Wu-Tang Clan. The staff suspected it might be a scam, and the hotel sales director called Roc Nation and learned the two men weren’t associated with the label, the Associated Press reported.
As soon as Barnes-Burpo tried to check-in under the Roc Nation reservation, he and his crew were detained by Richmond County sheriff’s deputies.
The fake “Wu-Tang” duo has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The complaint states the credit cards used in the scam included a stolen one and another that was “likely fake.” Two of the other men involved told deputies they were homeless men from the ATL who were recruited by the defendants to pose as their bodyguards.
