This is one for the books—Florida con artist Howard Harlib defrauded the Mill Casino in North Bend, Oregon of $12,5000 by claiming to be a booking agent for ’70s-era disco group the Village People. The casino became aware of the swindle when management saw that the real group was playing elsewhere on the scheduled dates.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland sentenced Harlib to federal supervised release following time served in federal prison for an unrelated conviction.
Booking fake celebrities is Harlib’s specialty, according to KOIN-TV. In 2004, he was convicted of third-degree grand theft for a similar con, claiming to represent the Temptations, the Supremes and comedian Jimmie “J.J.” Walker. After serving five years in prison, Harlib was sentenced to another five for impersonating a doctor and illegally possessing prescription medications.
The Village People—a male ensemble that includes a construction worker, a police officer, a cowboy, an Indian, a sailor and a leather-clad biker, among other masculine stereotypes—rocketed to fame during the disco era with hits like “YMCA,” “Macho Man” and “In the Navy.”
As part of Harlib’s sentencing, he was ordered to pay $12,5000 in restitution to the Coquille Indian Tribe, which operates the Mill Casino.
