Former radio announcer Dene Broadbelt has struck again, leaving a planned music festival in ruins and a trail of unpaid bills.
Last year Broadbelt left Eagle FM Goulburn after a music festival he was organising collapsed with a series if undelivered promises and unpaid bills. Read our earlier story here.
The same thing has now happened in Darwin, where Broadbelt, using the alias Dene Mussillon, promised a similar big event but couldn’t pull it off. The Infinity Music Festival was supposed to feature artists MARLO, Samual James, Ivan Gough and Vandalism, but it has now been cancelled in similar circumstances to the Goulburn concert.
Broadbelt has used the same con many times in his short career, as described in our investigative report from last year.
After the failure of the Goulburn concert, Broadbelt, then using the last names Mussillon and/or Morgan, tried to pitch the music festival idea to regional councils in Wellington, Dubbo and Narromine, but was rejected after the councils googled him and read our previous reports and posts on facebook from victims of his earlier cons. Darwin was not so lucky.
Darwin police are now investigating Broadbelt for fraud, after various businesses reported him for unpaid bills.
A facebook page associated with the ‘festival’ has now been taken down, but the festival website is currently still active. A number of tickets, costing between $51 to $107, had been sold for the planned Darwin festival, despite venue bookings not being locked in. A woman working for Mussillon says she was never paid.
The Northern Territory News reports the agent for the booked musicians pulled out agent several weeks ago because he “didn’t feel comfortable” with the event after researching it, leaving the festival without any performers.
Broadbelt/Mussillon/Morgan is not commenting.
Police are investigating unpaid bills in two states, including unpaid motel bills in Darwin and a series of unpaid bills for printing, promotional products and car rentals stretching from the Darwin matter as far back to his first failed venture, Ridge Radio.
The Australian Tax Office has opened an investigation into unpaid wages for many staff ’employed’ by Broadbelt’s various companies. ATO case number 1012555748766.
Read the NT News report here.
There is an excellent facebook page for people who have been conned by Dene, that is keeping tabs on his current escapades - they are appealing for anyone else who has been ripped off to come forward to add to charges that can be laid against him...see the Dene Broadbelt Support Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/654659434595953/
Please note the face book page you quoted above is not the Dene Broadbelt / infinity music festival Facebook page, the link you provided is a real festive from overseas, Dene Broadbelts Facebook page has been removed his webpage for the festival is still up and running http://www.infinitymusicfestival.com.au/ as at 5:34 21/3/2014
Skip Films: Many thanks for your update. We have amended our report.