Talk about loyal fans. The fans of
Toni Braxton can not be deceived. The Grammy winner was advertised to perform a concert in Paramaribo, Suriname, a city in northern South America; however the show promoter Angel Ventura from Events 4 Suriname apparently attempted to dupe concertgoers with a bogus Braxton imposter.
Ventura contracted an American singer named Trina Johnson to pretend to be Braxton onstage, but when attendees realized that the 'Un-break My Heart' singer was not the real deal during her second song, pandemonium ensued as patrons booed, threw objects at the stage and looted the bars at the Anthony Nesty Indoor Stadium.
Security had to rescue Johnson from the melee and she was whisked away in a waiting limousine. Additionally, Johnson appeared at a press conference for the concert days before and claimed to be Braxton's manager. (The 41-year-old singer's actual manager is her husband, former
Mint Condition singer Keri Lewis.) Attendees were told that Braxton would not be appearing at the concert because she was tired from her airline flight.
To promote the show, organizers ran television advertisements with images of the real Braxton announcing she was coming to Paramaribo. Braxton, who appeared on last season's 'Dancing with the Stars,' released a statement saying her camp was looking into the matter.
"Many apologies to the fans for the mis-representation, we are working on finding out exactly what happened and what the whole situation was," the
singer said.
Authorities have started a criminal investigation into the matter and hundreds of local patrons filed fraud complaints. While no arrests have been made in the matter, police did interview Johnson and since she was able to produce a contract stating that she would perform an "imitation act," she was not able to be held. The promoter Ventura, who is allegedly from the US Virgin Islands, disappeared following the concert and failed to pay local sponsors, organizations, show workers and artists who opened the show.
Since the promoters and their team where not South American residents, border authorities have been alerted and are on look-out for them. Impersonating someone else with the intent to filch something, whether it is money, a good or service from another individual, according to Article 386 of the Surinamese Criminal Code is a criminal offence with a maximum jail term of three years.
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