Man Claimed To Represent Rappers, Scammed Emory: Prosecutors

ATLANTA, GA — An Illinois man falsely claimed to represent popular rap groups like Atlanta's Migos and scammed universities, including Emory University, out of thousands of dollars to book the acts for concerts, prosecutors say.

Octaveon Woods, 26, of Decatur, Illinois, was arraigned on wire fraud and money laundering charges this week in federal court in Atlanta. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 6, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

According to prosecutors, Woods claimed to represent rap acts including Migos, Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert.

"Woods allegedly convinced others to pay him thousands of dollars to ‘book’ these artists for concerts and festivals — when he had no relationship with the artists at all," said U.S. Attorney Byung J. "BJay" Pak. "Woods immediately laundered the money to try and conceal his fraud."

According to prosecutors, Wood owned several companies including Global Talent Agency, GTA Bookings and National Artist Agency, that claimed to be booking agencies in the entertainment industry. He advertised that those agencies represented dozens of musicians, comedians and other artists.

Student groups at Emory University, the University of Missouri and others hired Woods' companies to book the artists for concerts and festivals. In reality, prosecutors say, Woods had no relationship with any of the artists and, as soon as his victims would wire him money to book the concerts, he would transfer the money into other accounts, then withdraw it as cash.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynsey M. Barron.

Offset, from left, Quavo and Takeoff, of Migos, arrive at the U.S. premiere of "Bright" at the Regency Village Theatre on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)