Two Former Cedar Rapids Tourism Officials Face Federal Prison Time Over Failed Music Festival

Newbo Elove

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CelebrityAccess) — Two officials from a taxpayer-funded tourism agency in Ceder Rapids are facing terms in federal prison in the wake of a music festival that lost a reported $2.3 million.

According to the Associated Press, Aaron McCreight, the former CEO of Ceder Rapids Go is facing 18 months in prison after he was convicted of defrauding a Cedar Rapids bank. McCreight, and the organization’s CFO Douglas Hargrave, previously admitted to defrauding a local bank by providing misleading revenue projects to secure a loan.

The loan was used to finance Newbo Evolve, a three-day music festival that took place in 2018 with headliners Maroon 5 and singer Kelly Clarkson.

According to the AP, the festival lost more than $2 million dollars, leaving Cedar Rapids Go unable to repay the loan.

The organization’s Chief Financial Officer, Douglas Hargrave, also pleaded guilty to bank fraud over the loans for the festival and faces 15 months in prison.

Both men were ordered to collectively pay more than 1.4 million in restitution over the failed festival.

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