Summary: Keith Lawrence Middlebrook has allegedly scammed many, including celebrities and pro athletes, out of over a million dollars.
According to NBC San Diego, Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, a 46-year-old man from Murietta, California, has been charged with defrauding clients, including many celebrities and athletes, in excess of $1 million.
Check out the indictment here.
On Thursday, Middlebrook appeared in U.S. District Court in San Diego for the first time. He faces 15 counts of aggravated identity theft, 15 counts of mail fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and four counts of using fraudulent government seals.
Middlebrook’s scam allegedly started when he began seeking out clients, including many celebrities and pro athletes, and promising them he could improve their credit scores by working with credit reporting agencies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not revealed which celebrities and athletes were scammed, but Middlebrook’s Facebook profile shows him with Magic Johnson, Snooki, Chris Rock, Seal, and Kim Kardashian.
You can read the bond papers in this case here and here.
According to an IMDB page for Middlebrook, he is a single father and has many uncredited roles in television shows and films. Apparently, he was a studio executive for the television series “Entourage.” He also claims to have worked with Lindsay Lohan.
In the indictment, prosecutors alleged that Middlebrook was well aware that he could not improve credit scores, but still charged clients thousands of dollars, at times tens of thousands of dollars, before working.
To facilitate his scheme, Middlebrook is accused to have submitted fraudulent documents from different agencies, such as the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, to support challenges for debts. In addition, he generated and told others to make documents that appeared to be from businesses, creditors, government agencies, and financial institutions, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. These allegedly included government seals, signatures of officials which were not authorized by any creditors, and letterhead.
Middlebrook’s bail was set at $175,000. His next hearing is scheduled for October 29.
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