Details have begun to surface about the man believed to be behind Paramount Agency & Touring, an allegedly fraudulent management company said to have been run by Mr Dene Broadbelt. According to a new report by Fairfax, Broadbelt’s scams stretch from Brisbane, to rural Australia.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Broadbelt has now gone to ground, a few days shy of hist 21st birthday, after Paramount apparently ceased operation. The report alleges that Broadbelt’s confidence scams have incurred debts of over $120,000 in the past 18 months.
There is even a “Dene Broadbelt Support Group” on Facebook that’s gathered 104 members who share photos of Broadbelt and discuss his scams, which he allegedly perpetrated under aliases like, Dene Broadbent, Dean Mussillon, Nic Lloyd, and Clay O’Connor, before disappearing completely.
“We really can’t tell how many people he stuffed over,” 19-year-old James Kittelty told Fairfax Media. Kittelty is one of the DJs involved in the Paramount debacle, which saw Broadbelt stiffing a bill of nearly $4,000 after arranging accommodation, drinks, and meals for eight people.
Meanwhile, Bass Limousines, run by Tarik Hadaya, has alleged it was owed $7,000 for driving a man named “O’Connor” and his DJs and entourage around Illawarra on a 13-hour shoot. A photographer, make-up artist, stylist, as well as a recording studio Broadbelt booked, remain unpaid.
According to Fairfax‘s report, Broadbelt’s typical MO is to con equipment companies into supplying thousands of dollars worth of equipment, as well as booking expensive recording studio time, photography sessions, and/or rental cars, and disappearing without recouping the costs.
“He’s not making a lot of money, just trying to live out this persona and lifestyle he wishes he had. He reminds me of the guy from Catch Me if You Can on a smaller scale,” said Scott Richardson of Ulladulla Web Design, to whom Broadbelt reportedly owes “around $1,500” for design work.
Broadbelt is also alleged to have fled from Eagle FM in Goulburn back in 2013 after ordering $18,500 worth of equipment for a music festival. Radio Goulburn’s Gail Gowdern told Fairfax that she knew Broadbelt as the station’s “talented” breakfast DJ and “cannot fathom his behaviour.”
“I just want him to stop. He was a braggart and full of himself but in a way that people would be sucked in by him. I am an intelligent woman and he sucked me in,” she said. So far, it appears that no money was taken from the artists who were involved with Paramount Agency & Touring.
