Portland musician sentenced in West Memphis Three benefit concert fraud

A musician from Portland, Oregon has been sentenced to four years in prison after deceiving people into thinking he would host a benefit concert he had no intention of making a reality.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that musician Kasey Anderson stole $586,000 from investors and people who thought they were giving their money to a worthwhile cause.

The cause was a benefit concert for the West Memphis Three. Anderson claimed that A-list musicians and bands like Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and Willie Nelson would be playing at the concert. In reality, Anderson was in no way capable of following through on such promises.

In court, Anderson blamed his own mental illness and drug addiction for his actions. He described himself as a compulsive liar who believed his own deceptions while spending large amounts of money recklessly, perpetuating a vicious cycle.

A large part of the fraud involved Anderson impersonating real people with connections to either the West Memphis Three or some of the musical acts he claimed would perform. He variously claimed to be the wife of a West Memphis Three member and a record industry attorney. He even went so far as to falsify bank records.

The West Memphis Three refers to a group of three young men from the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas. They were convicted of murders they did not commit because the prosecutor's alleged the murder was part of a Satanic ritual, and the boys had a taste for Goth culture and heavy metal. Based on these two associations, they were convicted and sentenced to death, and life in prison. The three were later exonerated by DNA evidence after serving more than 18 years in prison. 

The case was the focus of several documentaries that helped build support for their freedom. The West Memphis Three recieved the support of prominent musicians and artists, such as Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder.