UPDATE No. 2: A representative for Migos condemned the actions of the fraudsters who claimed to represent the hip-hop group.
“It's never acceptable for people to try to get over on others,” the representative said in a statement. “We do not condone this type of behavior.”
UPDATE: Emory University has filed a police report after falling victim to fraud in an attempt to book rap group Migos for Dooley's Week.
The university will also review its policies for contracts and financial transactions to avoid similar scams in the future, spokeswoman Elaine Justice said.
“Emory’s Division of Campus Life is convening a working group of students and staff to review processes related to contracts and financial transactions and implement recommendations to prevent any future fraudulent activity,” Justice said.
Original story: Emory University students thought they were getting Migos for Dooley's Week, their annual celebration featuring high-profile musicians and comedians.
Instead, they got conned by a fake booking company, which the Emory Student Programming Council paid an unspecified deposit for Migos' purported performance, according to a statement on the commission's Facebook page.
The council worked with Emory Campus Life and the university’s legal department to pay the fake company an undisclosed amount for the booking. After the payment was made, the company “was discovered to be a fraudulent entity,” the statement said.
The Student Programming Council discovered the fraud after announcing that Migos would perform during Dooley's Week. The council president, Ria Sabnis, learned the group had been the victim of fraud on March 25, according to the Emory Wheel.
The concert was initially scheduled for April 8. Migos is scheduled to perform at the Gulf Coast Spring Fest in Biloxi, Mississippi on April 8.
After learning they’d been conned, the Student Programming Council tried to find a way to still have Migos at Emory, but was unsuccessful, the statement said. The commission is searching for a new artist to perform during next week’s festivities.
“It sucks. We’re disappointed. We are students and were as excited as you were,” the council’s executive board wrote in the statement. “We are as frustrated to give you the news as you are to hear it. We are still working to have a concert on either April 7th or 8th.”
Emory students and alumni expressed frustration in comments on the statement.
“How do you guys mess this up? They have their booking information on their Twitter telling you it’s migosmgmt@gmail.com,” said Kevin O’Neal Childress, whose Facebook profile says he is a former Emory research assistant.
An Emory University spokesperson said the university would issue a statement in the early afternoon Wednesday. Migos’ management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maybe this Migos-rapping Conyers teacher is available to perform instead: