A plea hearing is set in South Florida for a former top-name music promoter accused of operating his company as a Ponzi scheme that fleeced investors out of $300 million.
Jack Utsick was scheduled for arraignment Friday afternoon on mail fraud charges.
Utsick was extradited last month from Brazil, where he fled in 2006 amid investigations by the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission. After a lengthy court battle, Brazil ordered his extradition in August, and he was flown to Miami in early December.
Utsick ran Worldwide Entertainment Inc., which produced concerts by acts such as the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Aerosmith and many others. Authorities say he paid new investors with money from older ones, defrauding an estimated 3,300 investors out of nearly $300 million.
