‘He took everything we had:’ investors claim Orlando music producer used romance to take their money

By MML2019 On Jul 8, 2022

Orlando, Fla. – The head of the Orlando Music Festival says some investors who have lost millions of dollars have been tricked into dating.

James Walker Watson, Jr., was arrested by FBI agents in May for failing to invest in a $ 3 million Southampton Music Festival.

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As a result, the Watson Orlando Music Festival, scheduled for the fourth weekend in July, was canceled.

“He took everything we had.

Howell and her sister, Joan Lascosky He said he had not yet recovered from a failed investment in the Houston Texas Music Festival in Houston in 2007.

“Financial, it’s hard,” Lascosky told News 6.

Hail Watson said that she had met her friend, and the two began dating.

“I was dating for six months (until I got married),” she told me. “Then I realized what was happening, and I was confused. I realized we were deep inside.

A.D. In a 2007 federal court document, Howell borrowed money from a farm that had been held by her family for generations.

She and her sister donated the money to Watson.

Watson was later charged with wire fraud for the incident, and spent five years in prison.

Howell and Lascosky’s family lost their farms and pensions – a total of more than $ 700,000.

“He completely destroyed his family,” Lascosky said. “There are parts of the family that do not speak. It was hard. ”

Nancy Lucas says she has lost investment at the Watson Southampton Music Festival by 2020.

She told News 6: “I actually fell in love with him for a while, and I was shocked.

She spoke to News 6 from California, where she said she met Watson at another concert.

She says he took her to Los Angeles, where he put her in expensive hotels.

“He robbed me of $ 300,000; That was the legacy of my hard-working father. ”

She said the FBI did not find her.

Howell and Lascosky say they have a hard time earning a living, but they have a promissory note with Wattson’s signature, but they have no hope of seeing their investment again.

“When he meets the maker, he doesn’t have a lawyer to talk to him,” Lascosky said. “He must stand on his feet and take what comes to him.”

The Watson women were in the process of launching their first Orlando Music Festival, and they feared that there might be more victims like them.

An FBI spokesman told News 6 that anyone who believes they have been defrauded in WhatsApp will be contacted at ic3.gov, tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Watson’s lawyer did not comment on News 6.