Ongoing History Daily: Why artists need to watch their money carefully
Artists are always getting ripped off by people close to them. Here are some stories.
- In 2009 U2 bass player Adam Clayton accused his personal assistant and housekeeper of making off with almost $3 million of his money.
- In 1995, Sting’s trusted accountant of more than 15 years was sent to jail for siphoning off £6 million of Sting’s money.
- In 2000, Dana Giachetto, an investment advisor, screwed around with the money of celebrities like Alanis Morissette.
- And then there was Frank Dixon. Back in the Britpop days, he handled the books for bands like Suede and Primal Scream. In 2004, he was convicted of stealing more than £1 million of his clients’ money to keep his company afloat. He fiddled with his books using his clients’ money, saying that he was using the cash to pay their tax bills. The biggest loser in all this was probably Suede, who lost at least a million pounds themselves. The only thing that prevented Dixon from being caught was that most of his clients spent months touring overseas.
Once again, if you’re in a band, make sure you can really trust the guy handling your money.
