Man Poses As Grammy Winner to Get Guitars

[HARD ROCK UNIVERSE]

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Brian Sparks was not a famous musician, but he claimed he was and convinced guitar dealers around the country to send him guitars and equipment.

On Tuesday, Sparks, 42, admitted in federal court that he had bilked businesses out of about $18,000 worth of guitars and equipment by posing as Grammy-winning guitarist Eric Johnson. Sparks pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Sparks acknowledged he used the ruse to get guitars shipped to his home. Businesses targeted included Sadowsky guitars in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Larrivee Guitars in Vancouver.

Johnson, of Austin, Texas, gained prominence in 1990, when his instrumental single, "Cliffs of Dover," won a Grammy award.

[nightrocker]

I wonder what Eric thinks of this deal..not good

[mak]

nightrocker said:

I wonder what Eric thinks of this deal..not good

yeah but Brian Sparks thought it was great deal ;D

[nightrocker]

mak said:

nightrocker said:

I wonder what Eric thinks of this deal..not good

yeah but Brian Sparks thought it was great deal ;D

....sounded good to him when he did it ..but Now?

[HARD ROCK UNIVERSE]

You'd think that businesses would check these things out before sending out equipment, like getting ahold of Eric's management and asking if it's legit or not. So, did the guy just call up and say "Hi, I'm Eric Johnson, send me some stuff" and they went "Oh, okay sure! What do ya need?"

[kim]

Hey friends, this is Billy Gibbons here. I'm at Kimba's house as he's my cousin on my dads side. I wanted to say that I don't approve of this sort of activity. If anybody is aware of others using the ZZ Top name for personal gain, I'd really appreciate the heads up on it aw'right'?