AUGUSTA, GA — John Collins at American Audio Visual Services in Augusta, GA reached out to PLSN and FOH magazines for help in publicizing something he’s actually quite embarrassed about — but knows that, by sharing his story, he might be helping others in our struggling industry avoid a pitfall that could cost them dearly as well. Long story short, on Sept. 1, 2021, Collins’ company got scammed out of $18,000 worth of pro AV gear and, after doing some online research, he found out that others have been victimized earlier this year by what might be the same con artist using the same modus operandi.
The Scam
“The name that this guy used was ‘Kelvin Westin,’ the company he was with, ‘Linage Studios’ in California. Both turned out to be false,” Collins notes. “The credit card that he used turned out to be a stolen number, but wasn’t declined until the next day after the theft. He was very specific in the gear that he asked to rent, which he stated was going to be used in a music video shoot that he was producing here in Augusta. We learned later that after we dropped the equipment off at a legitimate business rental studio downtown, he loaded the gear out into his vehicle and left. Telling the studio owner that the talent he was shooting wasn’t going to make the studio time allotted for the video shoot, thus they were moving the production to his home. We didn’t find this out until the next morning when we returned to pickup the gear.
“The same “MO” was used for his theft from AV Vegas back in March of this year,” Collins continues. “By searching FB post and key words such as Shure ULDX/QSC Speaker theft we stumbled onto the post that AV Vegas made of their run in with this guy.” Collins says he’s certain that “the picture they posted was definitely the same guy, using the same tactic of having the delivery made to a venue, then loading the gear out after the rental company tech leaves.”
So Far, No Gear Recovered
We reached out to John Hansen with AV Vegas for an update on the Facebook post dated March 26. Unfortunately, despite the seemingly solid leads available, law enforcement hasn’t been able to track anyone down, and none of the gear valued at $30,000 had been recovered as of Sept. 8. The loss is especially painful after the ordeal that live event production companies have been through since March 2020. “We were so thrilled to finally get an order,” Hansen says. (For more on his company’s ordeal, see the screenshot of the Facebook post below.)
Although American Audio Visual Services also filed a police report for his company’s $18,000 loss with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office [case #21-250307], Collins suspects that the odds of recovery of the stolen gear are marginal. “Obviously, both cases [his and Hansen’s] equal Grand Theft charges, but the police really don’t have time or the manpower to investigate these crimes. That’s why I hope we can get the word out on this guy. Friends of ours in Columbia, SC – SCAV, a rental house, also said this guy came into their office and was trying to rent camera equipment for a music video shoot.
“Looking back now, I see all the red flags that should have been warning signs,” Collins continues. “His first credit card that he used was declined, he didn’t want any help in setting up the equipment, his cell phone was an Los Angeles area code but his credit card that the charges initially went through on was from a Savannah GA address, a stolen number.
“After being in business for 27 years, I am embarrassed that I fell for such a con,” Collins adds. “We’re of course struggling like everyone else in this business right now, and we usually don’t rent to the general public. Trying to make a buck in the end, cost us dearly. The salt in the would now is that our insurance is not going to cover the loss stating that we “voluntarily” gave the equipment to the end user, thus it is not consider a ‘theft.’ I hope you can publish this in PLSN and FOH, and any other connections that you may know of that would help get the word out on this guy. He deserves to be prosecuted, but most of all put a stop to this theft of our friends in the AV rental business.”
Here’s the gear stolen from American Audio Visual Services:
- 4 x QSC KLA12 Cabinets w/Tote Bags
- 1 x SHURE ULXD Quad Receiver
- 4 x SHURE KSM8 Handheld Mic’s
- 1 x QSC TouchMix 30 Console
- 2 x ATA Road cases for the console and wireless system
Update 9/9/2021:
Kendall Seals from Seals Productions in Chattanooga, TN emailed PLSN and FOH to report that his company might have fallen victim to the same scam on Aug. 27, a few days before AAVS in Augusta GA got ripped off on Sept. 1.
Here are photos of the suspect loading gear into a silver Infiniti car on Aug. 27 with a temporary license plate in Chattanooga, TN:
Here’s what went missing from Seals Productions:
- 4 QSC KLA’s
- A ULXD Quad
- 2 hand held microphones
