KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Imagine paying good money to see a big-name performer only to find out it was all a scam. People tell FOX 4 Problem Solvers that the scam is happening here in Kansas City and the guy responsible is a 28-year-old promoter named Jonny Causevic.
FOX 4’s undercover cameras were rolling at a club in downtown Kansas City. That’s where an invitation promised nationally known entertainer T Mills would be headlining.
Tickets were $35. But T Mills was a no-show and when FOX 4 Problem Solvers contacted T Mills’ manager to find out why, we learned the young artist had never even been booked.
So who then was selling tickets to a bogus concert? According to the invitation, Jonny Causevic.
We tried to talk to Causevic, but he took off at a run when he saw our cameras waiting for him. That’s OK Jonny. We found plenty of other people willing to share their thoughts on you.
People like University of Kansas student Richard Reynolds who said Causevic is a scammer who took $3,000 from him for what turned out to be a bogus investment.
Reynolds said he was told by Causevic that his money would be used to bring in two big-name artists, Mac Miller and Fabolous. By helping fund the concert, Reynolds said he was promised a generous return on his investment. Except the artists never came and Reynolds discovered that they’d never been booked and the contracts Causevic had shown him (supposedly signed by the artists) were fake.
Justin Clark also has a beef with this self-proclaimed king of Kansas City nightlife. Clark signed on as a silent partner with Causevic’s nightclub-promotion business, Social 3. He paid Causvic $7,000, but when he called the owner of one of the nightclub’s to confirm a booking that Causevic had told him about, he learned that nothing had been booked and that Causevic was lying to him.
St. Louis club owner Dennis Sehic had a similar experience. Sehic, who like Causevic was born in Bosnia and moved here as a teenager, had trusted Causevic to bring in Kaya Jones of the Pussy Cat Dolls. Instead, Sehic said he became the victim of an elaborate hoax that cost him nearly $10,000.
“I rented a big club that fits 1,000 people,” recalled Sehic. He also hired bartenders, security and sold several hundred tickets. But an hour after the show was to begin, Kaya Jones was nowhere to be found. Club-goers were furious.
“People were literally spitting on us,” said Sehic.
When he called Causevic to complain, Causevic blamed Kaya Jones. But FOX 4 Problem Solvers tracked down the man who handles Kaya Jones bookings.
“It’s straight up fraud,” said Mike Esterman. He said Kaya Jones was never booked in St. Louis and he said the contracts Causevic has used repeatedly with Esterman’s company logo are forged.
We thought it was time to talk to Causevic in person. We showed up at the Clay County Courthouse where this lover of the nightlife was appearing on a drunk driving charge. But when we tried to talk to him as he left the building, he took off running. Later when our cameras weren’t rolling, Causevic insisted to us he’s a legitimate promoter who’s had a streak of bad luck putting concerts together.
