Jail Sentence For Bergen County Talent Agent Who Promised To Book Chris Brown And MC Hammer

A Teaneck talent agent who promised he would book popular musicians like Chris Brown and MC Hammer was sentenced to between 39 and 78 months in New York prison for stealing $2 million from clients, authorities said.

Yugeshwar Rajkumar, 45, previously pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to five counts of grand larceny and scheme to defraud. He also must pay more than $1.7 million in restitution.

“The defendant took advantage of his reputation in the music industry to convince his victims to pay him tens of thousands of dollars to secure supposed performances by world-famous recording artists,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said Monday.

Rajkumar admitted as part of the plea deal falsely promised clients and event promoters that he would book popular recording artists like Akon, Chris Brown, T-Pain, and MC Hammer for overseas concerts, Vance said.

Rajkumar admitting charging his clients between $45,000 and $300,000 and had clients wire payments to bank accounts Rajkumar controlled, Vance said.

Rajkumar used the money to pay for rent, cars, legal fees, and personal debts, authorities said.

In many cases, Rajkumar forced victims to pay additional fees to secure performances who were never booked, Vance said.

Rajkumar also went by “Matthew Rajkumar” and “Mateo Rajkumar.”