A Georgia man who pretended to be a member of the Wu-Tang Clan to scam businesses out of hundreds of thousands of dollars has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison.
53-year-old Walker Washington was sentenced to 100 months in prison by a federal judge Thursday. He was also ordered to pay $299,900 in restitution, according to NBC News.
Washington and Aaron Barnes-Burpo, 29, falsely said they were affiliated with Roc Nation and the Wu-Tang Clan in 2019. The pair used stolen credit card information to book hotels and rent limos.
“These two flim-flam artists and their phony entourage lived large for several weeks by scamming hospitality providers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes in a statement. “We commend the skeptical hotel clerk who saw through the scam and alerted law enforcement, bringing this scheme to a halt,” he said.
But the scam fell apart when the staff at an Augusta Fairfield Inn Suites became suspicious about a 10 room request for “Rocnation/WuTangClan.” They contacted the FBI. Roc Nation confirmed no affiliation and said other hotels had reached out about the same issue.
Some hotels reported losses totaling $40,000. A limo company hired by the pair for two luxury vehicles lost out on more than $59,000. One of the vehicles they rented from the company was a Rolls Royce Phantom.
In October, Both Washington and Barnes-Burpo pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Barnes-Burpo was given seven years in prison back in March. The pair said they came up with the plan while they were incarcerated.
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