Aaron Barnes-Burpo and Walker Washington have been arrested after claiming to be members of the hip-hop collective and leaving tabs totaling in $100,000 from three different hotels in Georgia.
- February 14, 2020
AceShowbiz - Two men posing as Wu-Tang Clan members have scammed hotels for more than $100,000. Aaron Barnes-Burpo and Walker Washington have been arrested for pretending to be rap stars to book exclusive hotels in Atlanta, Georgia, leaving tabs totaling in $100,000 in goods and services.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, the thieves duped the Georgian Terrace Hotel out of $45,000 and walked out on $39,000 tab at Hyatt Regency. They were not caught until a third hotel in Augusta suspected a scam.
Prosecutors say the thieves made a reservation for 10 rooms at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, claiming themselves as executives with Roc Nation and listing the Wu-Tang Clan as guests. A suspicious hotel sales director called Jay-Z's entertainment agency, but was told that the company had no connection to the men. When Aaron and Walker tried to check in under the Roc Nation reservation, he and others with him were detained by Richmond County sheriff's deputies.
Aaron and Walker drove around in a Rolls-Royce Phantom rented from A-National Limousine, which reported a $60,000 loss. The two also rented two Atlanta recording studios, racking up a $17,000 tab in unpaid studio time. The crew used one stolen credit card and another that was likely fake, according to the complaint. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Aaron and Walker reportedly recruited two homeless men from Atlanta to pose as their bodyguards. Others who traveled with them were not charged.
Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group formed in the New York City borough of Staten Island in 1992, originally composed of rapper-producer RZA and rappers GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa. Ol' Dirty Bastard died in 2004 from an accidental drug overdose.
The group last released an album, titled "The Saga Continues", in 2017. In 2019, an EP titled "Wu-Tang: Of Mics and Men" was released in conjunction with their docuseries of the same title.
