12/05/05
It
was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime event
for Miami schoolchildren. A three-day "Christmas
From Around the World" spectacular,
with pageantry, presents, and even live
reindeer. But when busloads of teachers,
parents, and students arrived for the event
in December 2003 clutching their $10 tickets,
they found an empty, shuttered convention
center and no sign of the "show promoter."
This
was business as usual for David Lee Ellisor,
a one-time exhibition promoter turned con
artist who—as our investigation later
revealed—already had scammed schoolchildren
in at least five other states with similar
fake event schemes.
Months
earlier, Ellisor began pitching the fake
holiday show to schools across the Miami
area. The show, he claimed, would teach
children how Christmas is celebrated in
other countries. Ellisor mailed out flashy
promotional packets and met with school
officials, wowing them with promises of
a venue decked with Christmas trees and
lights, an unforgettable holiday stage show,
a lunchtime feast with a Harry Potter look-alike,
an exciting scavenger hunt with gifts for
every child, and even special guests—ambassadors
from 28 different countries.
But
the slick sales pitch didn't end there.
Ellisor fraudulently named prominent businesses
and local police and fire departments as
event sponsors. He printed promotional materials
on stolen University of Miami letterhead,
suggesting the school was involved. And
to convince school officials of his good
track record in staging similar special
events, he showed them a letter he had received
eight years earlier—during his legitimate
days as a show promoter—from the Miami
FBI Field Office. The letter thanked Ellisor
for allowing the FBI to participate in a
career fair he held at the same convention
center.
Parents,
teachers, and children alike bubbled with
excitement about the show. More than 2,700
students from 22 Miami-area schools handed
over $10 each for tickets. Some schools
even held bake sales to raise money for
children whose families couldn't afford
to pay the fee. Ellisor quickly collected
more than $38,000 in a bank account he set
up for the "event."
But
on the morning the holiday spectacular was
to begin, Ellisor cleaned out the account
while parents and teachers tried to console
thousands of devastated children in the
convention center parking lot. Later that
day, federal warrants charging Ellisor with
mail fraud were issued. He quickly used
$3,800 of the money to make the final payment
on a luxury Jaguar automobile and fled.
Knowing
he was wanted by the FBI, Ellisor walked
into the Miami federal courthouse in January
2004 and surrendered to U.S. Marshals. Our
continuing investigation revealed that he
had never intended to hold the pageant and
had spent the children's money on lobster
dinners, lavish hotel suites, movie rentals,
wine, luxury rental cars, special-order
clothing, and a $5,000 watch.
Earlier
this year, Ellisor was convicted of eight
counts of mail fraud. In August, he was
sentenced to more than seven years in prison—the
high-end of federal sentencing guidelines
sought by federal prosecutors—and
ordered to pay more than $38,500 in restitution
to the children and their families. So much
for this modern-day grinch!
Links:
Sentencing
Press Release | Conviction
Press Release