You’ve got to keep your head on a swivel out there in today’s scam-likely world.
Unfortunately and frustratingly, scammers are trying to reel in victims any way that they can. In one of the latest examples, a man named John Klein who lives in Plymouth, Michigan, is being accused of scamming hundreds of Morgan Wallen fans out of thousands of dollars during the country superstar’s two-night stop at the “Big House.”
Klein is the creator of something called “HailGate,” which is a tailgate group that boasts over 10,000 members and has conducted tailgating and other events outside Michigan Stadium for years. Naturally, people online see that many members and the length “Hailgate” has gone on and choose to trust that Klein can deliver on what he’s selling.
This time around, he was promising Morgan Wallen tickets, autographed memorabilia, meet-and-greets and tailgating packages. More than 600 people jumped on the offering Klein presented through “HailGate.” Now, most of those individuals are trying to get their money back after Klein didn’t deliver on his promises, and they have all banded together on a Facebook group called “HailGate Victims.”
One family says they paid over $3,000 for a package that “HailGate” promised, and didn’t receive anything (they’ve apparently only gotten a small sum of that back in a refund). Another Michigan resident sent Klein close to $300 for tickets to the Wallen show, and never got them… and was blocked by Klein and “HailGate” when he tried to follow up about the purchase.
As the story gained more and more traction, Klein allegedly started refunding those who had paid him with more efficiency. But the man behind “HailGate” told The Detroit News that him being unable to fulfill purchases and send out refunds has to do with a cease-and-desist letter he received from Wallen’s team:
“I don’t want to cross Morgan Wallen, but I don’t want to let people down. I’m kind of between a rock and hard place here.”
Ummm, pretty sure Morgan Wallen would like you to cease and desist from scamming people… and that means refunding people you stole from. I’m not buying that a C&D from Wallen’s team is the issue here.
Klein is currently under investigation more multiple counts of fraud, and the country superstar’s legal team is working to stop the leader of “HailGate” from being allowed to use Wallen’s name and image ever again.
Ticketmaster even came out and said that Wallen doesn’t ever participate in meet-and-greets, which should have raised a red flag for those that were buying that package from Klein. The University of Michigan has also stated that they have no relationship with Klein, and they’ve also sent cease-and-desist letters to him.
Sometimes scams seem obvious, but this one is definitely a grey area. The “HailGate” has actually come through in the past, but more recently, it’s been less and less reliable. Seeing that many people in a Facebook group could lead one to believe it’s a trustworthy place to purchase tickets and packages from, but as many Morgan Wallen fans learned from this scam, “Hailgate” is far from being reliable and credible. In fact, Klein also has been in legal trouble in the past for other forms of fraud… safe to say the Michigan tailgate community didn’t know that.
Needless to say, always make sure you double check (or maybe even triple check) before you send your hard earned money over to someone else. And most importantly… buy from trusted ticket marketplaces.