After being duped by a fake Kenny Chesney, a California woman took legal action against the legitimate Country music icon.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Believing that she established a connection with four-time Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney, Patricia Linson shelled out over $300,000 in donations to a scammer impersonating the music star.
Instead of kicking herself for falling victim to a scam, Linson pinned the blame on the "American Kids" singer. In her lawsuit against the Grammy-nominated artist, Linson stated that Chesney had a duty to warn fans about scammers.
"Linson alleged, among other things, that Chesney likely knew third parties were impersonating him to steal money from others. And that he owed her a duty to warn and protect her against such scams," the lawsuit reads.
Kenny Chesney Sued By Fan Who Fell Victim to Impersonator
Linson also accused a Chesney staffer of feeding information to the scammer to make his scheme appear more legitimate.
"Linson also alleged that an unknown employee of Chesney may have aided and abetted the impersonator by leaking confidential information about Chesney's music business to the impersonator. "Which the impersonator used to convince Linson that he was Chesney. As a result, Linson claimed Chesney was also liable for her loss under vicarious liability and negligent hiring."
However, the court didn't support Linson's theory.
On August 11, the Court of Appeals in California's Second Appellate District affirmed a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling that dismissed country singer Kenny Chesney from Linson's lawsuit.
Therefore, the Country Music Hall of Famer will not have to fork over $300,000 to his hoodwinked fan.
News Anchor Scammed Out of $72,000
Linson is not the first person this year to get scammed out of a boatload of money.
Alex Delgado, a longtime Fresno news anchor, was scammed out of $72,000.
Delgado said she received a text in March claiming to be from the stock trading app Robinhood. The message said suspicious activity was spotted on her account and asked her to call a number to resolve the issue.
Without second-guessing, to protect her finances, Delgado obliged and dialed the number. The free call ended up costing her thousands of dollars.
"I feel dumb. That I should have been smarter about it. I am in a very vulnerable place," said Delgado, according to a report from Your Central Valley.
Delgado said the scam felt convincing because the caller sounded professional and used technical language to appear legitimate.
"If it can happen to me.. It can happen to anyone," the former news anchor said.
